tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649Fri, 09 Feb 2018 07:11:05 +0000The Real Tuesday Weldantique beatdeathlondonarcana"the last werewolf" "book trailer""glen duncan" "soundtrack" "the real tuesday weld""the last werewolf" "glen duncan" "soundtrack" "the real tuesday weld"OCCULTchristmasegyptologyglen duncanhendrickslondon arcanapsychogeography"Claudia Brucken" "Propaganda""L. A. Noire""Rockstar Games""The Real Tuesday Weld""love will tear us apart"32 londonersAbbaEGYPTTIME MACHINEWaterlooa curious invitationarctic circlecleopatra's needleelectro-swingi love the rainjoseph bonomilondon riotlondon riversmarcella puppinioccult londonsuicideteleportationthe beatlesthe fleetthe last werewolfthe puppini sisterswestminster"History of England""Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark""alex de campi""stop motion"32LONDONERSAdamAndrew MotionBREAKING BADBROMPTONBelgiumBobby MooreBrusselsCEMETERYChaucer antique beatClaire TomalinCold WarDAVID STAFFORDDOROTHY ANNADan CruikshankDanteDavid BowieGOLDMAN SACHSGavin BryarsGeorgi MarkovGrafittiJESSE PLEMONSJesus Blood Never failed me YetJosephine lloydJulien TempleKeatsKen LivingstonL A NoireLIONEL BARTMEETING SPENCERNeil GaimanParisRANDALL WIXENRicinSTAR WARSSamuel PepysThe Age of Not BelievingThe Broken HeartsTom WaitsVauxhall BridgeWilliam Blakeaccessoriesadmirality archal bowllyalice in wonderlandamber jane butchartamelia earhartarrested developmentarts libraryaudio christmas cardausteritybabingtonbankerbart and bakerbbc radio 3beauty prizebirthdayblondinbonomiboudiccabrompton cemeterybrompton time machinebuzz aldrincardboardiacarnival of knowledgecemeteriescheesechelseachevroletchopin. gainsbourgcibellecircusclerkenwellcoffee housecoralinecorruptcrime jazz unitcryonicsdave mckeandavid piperday dreamingday of the deaddeath masksdon brosnandreams that money can buyduke streetecstasyelectro swingeliza vestriseroticaexecutionfarringdon streetfindhornfingerfleet riverfoodfood wastefred astairefu manchugentlemen's clubsgeorge braunsteingeorge meliesgoodbye boysgorky parkguiltygun batterieshamshearthedy lamarrhomosexualhunterianin memoriumisisaac newtonjeffrey tamborjo staffordjoanna southcottjose joseken doddkeyking mobkolya vasinl'escargotla noirelast will and testamentlazarus and the plane crashlimehouselimehouse blueslincoln's innlocklondon at the librarylondon day of the deadlondon day of the dead. unbuilt londonlondon dreamtimelondon esotericalondon month of the deadlost londonlouise brooksmagic boxmatt brownmatthew greenmay 1stmay daymayan calendarmikael tariverdievmikhail khalikmontmartremoon landingmoscowneil armstrongnikolay vasinoccoult londonoliveropiumpadlockperspectivepeter ackryodpinkie maclureplasterplaster castprixe de beautepsychic weaponspunkrainrainy dayratcliffe highway murdersrationingroad movierom-comron moodysalon for the citysamidzatsamuel warnersave mesergey chernovsergey korsakovserial killerslow-motionsmokingsnailssovietst etiennest petersburghstrange attractort s eliottallulah risingthe blitzthe clerkenwell kidthe day before you camethe endthe end of the worldthe garrickthe garrick clubthe london eyethe moonthe panacea societythe sandmanthe thamesthe tiger lilliesthe waste landthomas boltontidetightropetimetower bridgetrafalgar squareumbrellavalentinevampirevaticanweatherwerewolfwest norwoodwitchcraftxmasyetiyou're going to liveThe Clerkenwell Kid<i>Myth Music London Love Birth Death Dreams Blood and The Real Tuesday Weld</i>
http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)Blogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-5635815544356022235Wed, 18 Feb 2015 18:06:00 +00002015-02-18T18:12:15.222+00:00antique beatbbc radio 3electro-swingi love the rainthe endthe fleetTHIS IS THE END<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my final post. &nbsp;I am not off in a huff or anything but I realise that life is very different than when I started this blog almost ten years ago with the post '<a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2005_06_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Wet Dreams'</a>&nbsp;about my visit to the hidden river Fleet. &nbsp;That was brought home to me last week when the very same story was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of the Just Juvenilia series&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">produced by Duncan Minshull</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. &nbsp;It was also the story of the beginning of <b>The Real Tuesday Weld </b>and&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the song&nbsp;</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'I Love the Rain' -&nbsp;</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">which was</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">perhaps the very&nbsp;first electro-swing tune (although of course we called it <a href="http://www.antiquebeat.co.uk/" target="_blank">Antique Beat)</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we are sort of ending with a&nbsp;beginning.</span>&nbsp;That<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;sort of sums it all up really.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can listen if you like:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/191789557&amp;color=ff9900&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=true&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it is not that I am no longer bothered about <i>"Myth Music London Love Birth Death Dreams or Blood' </i>either.&nbsp;In fact, I think care more, but several of these things have now evolved their own lives. &nbsp;If you still care too and want to&nbsp;stay connected, or if you should come across this in some future age, we can be in touch here:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For THE REAL TUESDAY WELD go <a href="http://www.tuesdayweld.com/" target="_blank">HERE,</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/therealtuesdayweld" target="_blank">HERE</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/therealtuesdayweld" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For BEAUTIFUL THINGS to&nbsp;own, see and hear, go&nbsp;</span><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/artists/the-real-tuesday-weld/" target="_blank">HERE</a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For LONDON related things go <a href="http://www.salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">HERE</a>&nbsp;or <a href="http://www.32londoners.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For DEATH go <a href="http://www.londonmonthofthedead.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For my FILM MUSIC go <a href="http://www.clerkenwellkid.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To read about the strange, strange story of ghostly records and the people who loved music so much they went to prison for it, go <a href="http://www.x-rayaudio.squarespace.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have really enjoyed writing the 200 plus posts I made for this blog and if you have read and enjoyed any of them,&nbsp;thank you.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's always best to finish with a song and so here is the one that in many ways started it all off.*</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Very best wishes then</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>TCK</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N5Kv7NVHXx4?list=PLA9ECBC89D3354D73" width="100%"></iframe><br /><br />*W<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ith&nbsp;eternal thanks to&nbsp;Tracy Lee Jackson of Dreamy records who heard it all&nbsp;those years ago and&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">believed..</b>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2015/02/this-is-end.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-8138018464092660455Sun, 23 Nov 2014 17:22:00 +00002014-11-23T22:09:00.167+00:00Abbaalice in wonderlandaudio christmas cardchristmasmarcella puppinithe beatlesthe day before you camethe puppini sistersThe Real Tuesday WeldxmasHAPPY HATTER CHRISTMAS<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get The&nbsp;Real Tuesday Weld's 2014 Audio Christmas&nbsp;Card <b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/music/2014/11/happy-hatter-audio-christmas-card/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mab98H6COWY/VHIWaLbLLJI/AAAAAAAABz8/5CX9OFHT3XI/s1600/happy-hatter-christmas-final2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mab98H6COWY/VHIWaLbLLJI/AAAAAAAABz8/5CX9OFHT3XI/s1600/happy-hatter-christmas-final2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's almost that time of year again isn't it?. &nbsp;It seems to come with increasing rapidity. &nbsp;Good job I'm immortal..&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the sixties, <b>The Beatles</b>, who were pioneers in SO many ways, used to make special flexi discs containing songs and bits of spoken word for their fan club at Christmas. Inspired, <b>The Real Tuesday Weld</b> have made an <b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/music/2014/11/happy-hatter-audio-christmas-card/" target="_blank">Audio Christmas Card</a> </b>for the last eight years. &nbsp;Originally it was just for friends and to say thanks to all the amazing people who have helped or supported us but a few years back after many requests (well, two or three), we started to make them available to all. &nbsp;They contain new music and pieces from the past year that wouldn't normally see the light of day. &nbsp;Often some of our best work I think.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They take the form of a specially designed greetings card with a mini cd inside - a format I have always loved although it is now almost totally anachronistic. &nbsp;You can actually play them in a standard cd player tray - although not of course in a laptop. &nbsp;Every year, we think 'shall we bother?" &nbsp;and I always say 'yes' because although we now also include a digital download token, it just doesn't seem the same to not have 'the actual thing' in some physical form or other. &nbsp;You can use the cd as a small coaster if you like.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You&nbsp;can get&nbsp;this year's card &nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/music/2014/11/happy-hatter-audio-christmas-card/" target="_blank">HERE</a></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;-&nbsp;signed and dedicated if you like.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The super cool image is one from the <b>Alice in Wonderband </b>collection by&nbsp;</span><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Antique Beat</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;- beautiful cool&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/stationery/2014/11/alice-in-wonderband-greeting-cards/" target="_blank">greetings cards</a></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/clothes/2014/11/alice-in-wonderband-t-shirts/" target="_blank">T shirts&nbsp;</a></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">featuring&nbsp;</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alice and her friends in a psych-rock band</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;(really). &nbsp;With all the other things Antique Beat have on offer, that should really cover your Christmas list right?</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am particularly pleased with the music&nbsp;this time: "<i>Hey Miss Policeman"</i>&nbsp;(a song about a cross-dressing law officer); <i>"Forsaken"</i>&nbsp;with my dear friend Marcella Puppini (from this year's score for the US film 'Meet Me in Montenegro');&nbsp;<i>"Cheshire Love Cat Blooze"</i>&nbsp;(does what it says on the tin) and&nbsp;<i>'It Came Through the Window"</i>&nbsp;inspired by '<b>The Man Who Married Kittens'</b>, the Walter Potter biopic I scored for maverick director Ronni Thomas.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/60721375&amp;color=ff1600&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=false&amp;show_user=false&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as an extra Christmas stocking filler, the EP contains a copy of our much requested cover version of Abba's masterpiece <b>"The Day Before You Came"</b>. This was only previously available on a US compilation. The original is one of my favourite ever songs:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/j30q6lvDtpM" width="100%"></iframe>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/11/happy-hatter-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-9115721733648645787Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:41:00 +00002014-10-06T12:45:03.963+01:00antique beatbonomicemeteriesdeathin memoriumlazarus and the plane crashlondonlondon month of the deadthe puppini sistersThe Real Tuesday Weldthe tiger lilliesTIME MACHINEUNLOCKING THE TIME MACHINE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R3ICcCr2_Kw/VDJ2sj3wLQI/AAAAAAAAByo/c9n0oWGvHUs/s1600/LMD_outer_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R3ICcCr2_Kw/VDJ2sj3wLQI/AAAAAAAAByo/c9n0oWGvHUs/s1600/LMD_outer_front.jpg" height="204" width="220" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t5jiNke4D_s/Tgfcd0TMqMI/AAAAAAAAAmc/sVMw26X2l5U/s1600/brompton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t5jiNke4D_s/Tgfcd0TMqMI/AAAAAAAAAmc/sVMw26X2l5U/s320/brompton.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-frF4QoOXEl8/TgfdbSNj9sI/AAAAAAAAAms/rDavObw1y_k/s1600/220px-Joseph_Bonomi_the_Younger_by_Matilda_Sharpe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-frF4QoOXEl8/TgfdbSNj9sI/AAAAAAAAAms/rDavObw1y_k/s1600/220px-Joseph_Bonomi_the_Younger_by_Matilda_Sharpe.jpg" /></span></a><br /><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The&nbsp;Real&nbsp;Tuesday&nbsp;Weld make a&nbsp;record for Dead People.</span></i><br /><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/music/2014/09/in-memorium/" target="_blank">Buy In Memorium here</a></span></i></b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">---------------------------------<br />Barely a week goes by without some new horror story about the London property market. &nbsp;But accommodation has always been a problem here - even for the dead</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The city is&nbsp;a&nbsp;teetering&nbsp;Necropolis.&nbsp;Countless thousands lie beneath our feet. &nbsp;Until inner city burials were banned in the mid 19th C., everyone who died here was squashed into tiny parochial church yards. &nbsp;Even before the horrors of the Black Death, tales abounded of body parts visible below thin layers of soil, corpses piled upon each other in cellars or left lying in the streets. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The Victorians built 'The Magnificent Seven Cemeteries' &nbsp;in a ring around the city to stop all that. &nbsp;This month, in two of them, &nbsp;Antique Beat are hosting <b>'<a href="http://www.londonmonthofthedead.com/" target="_blank">The London Month of the Dead'</a></b> with our friends A Curious Invitation.&nbsp;We are investigating the capital’s relationship with its deceased residents with workshops, walks, talks, a seance and an incredible array of speakers on death, dissection, bereavement, cemeteries, near-death experience, the paranormal **</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />As importantly, we are raising money for Brompton and Kensal Green cemeteries. My personal project is to&nbsp;raise enough to unlock <b>'</b><a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/time-space-and-city.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The Brompton Time Machine' </a>-&nbsp;better known as <i>The Courtoy Mausoleum</i>. &nbsp;An interesting legend has grown up around this mausoleum because it is the only one in the cemetery for which there is no record of construction - <b style="font-style: italic;">and for which there is no key. &nbsp;</b>It&nbsp;hasn't been entered for over a&nbsp;hundred years.&nbsp;It is thought to have been designed by the&nbsp;Egyptologist and occultist Joseph Bonomi - pictured here.&nbsp;The legend is that it may have been a Time Machine or even part of wider <b><a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/tunnels-teleportation-and-exploded.html" target="_blank">'London Teleportation System'</a>&nbsp;**</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b>Our aim is to raise enough to have the Mausoleum&nbsp;opened and a new key provided for future access / time travel. To that end, we have made a haunting new Ep called&nbsp;<a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/music/2014/09/in-memorium/" target="_blank"><b>In Memorium </b>&nbsp;</a>- a sequence of</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;songs&nbsp;about death with our friends <i>Lazarus and&nbsp;the Plane Crash</i>, <i>The Puppini Sisters</i> and <i>Martyn Jacques of&nbsp;The Tiger Lillies</i>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><b><i><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/music/2014/09/in-memorium/" target="_blank">Listen and buy it here</a></i></b></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(If you buy a ticket to any event at&nbsp;London Month of the Dead, you get a&nbsp;complimentary copy included in your ticket price).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>So go ahead</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Help out the dead</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>And save a slice</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Of the Afterlife..</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And in case you need any more inducements to&nbsp;<b>help raise </b>(money for) <b>the dead, </b>here is the&nbsp;Lazarus&nbsp;Plane Crash song "The Clay's a Calling" exhumed from the In Memorium Ep.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g8qLH2Ag6cA?list=UURxE7epx84jKE2P5DUyPFzw" width="459"></iframe></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;Of particular note to Londoners, may be<b> '<a href="http://www.londonmonthofthedead.com/dayinthelifeofdeath.html">A Day in the Life of Death' </a></b>- a chance to ask a London undertaker all the questions you ever wanted to or &nbsp;<a href="http://www.londonmonthofthedead.com/apocalypsenowandthen.html">'<b>Apocalypse Now and Then' </b></a>when London's <i>'mass fatality planner' </i>&nbsp;will be explaining what will happen to us in the case of various disasters..</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**Ironically, of the several ways of now getting quickly around London, one of the ones that has become more popular is <b>'The Brompton' </b>- a fold-up portable bicycle.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/10/unlocking-time-machine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-7578699907502126070Wed, 10 Sep 2014 18:57:00 +00002014-09-12T09:10:53.167+01:00goodbye boysmikael tariverdievmikhail khalikLOST IN MUSIC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5JxHQh08R5Y/VBCdmDWCoXI/AAAAAAAABwg/4Zvytzt_664/s1600/khalik-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="color: #353931;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DySeZ8Fdw4c/VBCdmCJHOsI/AAAAAAAABwc/BNHECGuGBvs/s1600/khalik-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DySeZ8Fdw4c/VBCdmCJHOsI/AAAAAAAABwc/BNHECGuGBvs/s1600/khalik-5.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-5JxHQh08R5Y%2FVBCdmDWCoXI%2FAAAAAAAABwg%2F4Zvytzt_664%2Fs1600%2Fkhalik-2.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5JxHQh08R5Y/VBCdmDWCoXI/AAAAAAAABwg/4Zvytzt_664/s1600/khalik-2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The photographer Paul Heartfield and I left our hotel and climbed in to the car that had been sent to pick us up. As we drove through the bright streets of St Petersburg and then out into the summer countryside on our way to Vyborg, I was thinking back to a day in Moscow three years before when I was sheltering from the freezing snow in a cafe with my friend Marina Tsurtsumia. She had asked me a question but I didn't notice because I had become lost in the music that was playing. '<i>It's something from the old times</i>' said the waitress, seeming a little surprised that I would be interested. I wouldn't go away or stop asking about it, so after a while she just shrugged and gave me the CD. I took it back to London and I spent most of that year listening to not much else.</span><br /><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZPwz3NNtc8M/VBCdmH_7HII/AAAAAAAABwY/dy5jGdHjymg/s1600/khalik-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZPwz3NNtc8M/VBCdmH_7HII/AAAAAAAABwY/dy5jGdHjymg/s1600/khalik-1.jpg" height="520" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You see for the first time in quite a while I had heard something the way I used to hear things. For once I wasn't working out how it was made, what the style was, where it fit into the music industry and so on. I've been making records and producing music since the late 1990s and although I love it, strangely I think I had lost the ability to just get lost in it. But somehow this music had taken me back to a place I had forgotten. I didn't seem to be alone in this - whenever I played it, my friends (many of them also musicians) immediately wanted to know what it was.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I found that it was from a film called <i>'Goodbye Boys'</i> and was by a composer called <b>Mikael Tarivediev.</b> I was baffled to discover that the person who created it was hardly known in the UK. So I began a journey to find out more about him - and perhaps to reconnect with my own love of music.</span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, rather wonderfully, that journey had brought us to Vyborg. But why were we here? Well, we had been invited to attend the film festival at the instigation of Vera Tariverdieva, Mikael's widow. And Vera, who rather wonderfully by this time had become a friend, had arranged our visit because the festival was showing the film Goodbye Boys. Not only that, but as it was fifty years since the film had been made, its director Misha Khalik had travelled back to Russia from Israel to receive a special award. So </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gpFUBrk90u8/VBKqfWBggyI/AAAAAAAABw4/JDWTk6TqgHw/s1600/t%2Bex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gpFUBrk90u8/VBKqfWBggyI/AAAAAAAABw4/JDWTk6TqgHw/s1600/t%2Bex.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">we came to see the film as it should be seen - in a good film theatre with its beauty and its wonderful soundtrack properly revealed - but also to meet with Misha and have the opportunity to talk with him. And we did talk and it was actually rather moving. He told us about his friendship with Mikael Tariverdiev, about their creative collaboration, about Goodbye Boys and about his own life. And what a life it has been.</span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, it has been a life with many difficulties and many sufferings but to meet such a vibrant, positive and funny person, you might not think so.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We spent some happy time together. I hope Misha felt so too. It was wonderful to see him with Vera and with two of the actors who played the boys in Goodbye Boys. (see above) It was wonderful to see him honoured properly after all this time and it was wonderful to meet his friends and family who love him so much.</span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We will have the pleasure of releasing a compilation of Mikael Tariverdiev's music in the West next year. People here need to hear it - they are missing out terribly. It would be wonderful if Misha Khalik's work was known here too - I love his films and I can't even speak Russian! But then there is so much Russian culture that we have been discovering that people here would love too..</span></div><div style="color: #353931;"><br /></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/09/lost-in-music.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-3801922713724053407Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:55:00 +00002014-07-03T12:03:54.731+01:00antique beatarrested developmentBREAKING BADgeorge braunsteinjeffrey tamborJESSE PLEMONSMEETING SPENCERRANDALL WIXENSTAR WARSSMOKE, MIRRORS, MUSIC, MOVIES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--3pEYSfdTjc/U7T8lCZKIoI/AAAAAAAABsM/HlRGVBaWtAA/s1600/jesse+bad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--3pEYSfdTjc/U7T8lCZKIoI/AAAAAAAABsM/HlRGVBaWtAA/s1600/jesse+bad.jpg" height="180" width="240" /></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r5FeXp26TMY/U7T774Pc-yI/AAAAAAAABsE/NT0Yr68clyA/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r5FeXp26TMY/U7T774Pc-yI/AAAAAAAABsE/NT0Yr68clyA/s1600/images.jpeg" height="320" width="239" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finally got to series five of <b><a href="http://www.amctv.com/shows/breaking-bad/cast/todd-alquist" target="_blank">Breaking Bad</a></b> (yeah, I know, two years after you did) and realised there are officially only two degrees of separation between me and Walter White.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Todd, the new recruit to Walter's meth squad (and who shoots the little boy after they rip off the cargo train), is played by <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Plemons" target="_blank">Jesse Plemons</a></b> who was the male lead in <b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1486186/" target="_blank">Meeting Spencer</a></b>, a US Indie I scored a few years ago. *</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My connection with Jesse is to do with the song <i><b>'If I've Got You</b></i>' which I was commissioned to write and which got me involved in the film.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>If you find all the behind the scenes technical stuff about films and music really boring, stop reading now and skip to the video below.</b></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still here? Ok, a few weeks before they started to shoot, my publisher Randall Wixen asked if I could write&nbsp;a song for the Spencer character to perform</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;in a pivotal scene.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love this sort of thing. It was the same deal with&nbsp;<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX14TMvBGFw&amp;list=PLD8ECF3C9FC96405B" target="_blank">L A Noire</a></b>&nbsp;- a tight deadline and songs that need to be about a character rather than about yourself (which is cool as I find I have less and less to say on the latter subject).&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a couple of false starts and some back-and-forthing over the lyrics, I delivered. &nbsp;The next thing was to get a version with Jesse singing it.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp; I</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">n the scene, his character performs at a piano in a restaurant. Jesse doesn't play piano, so I sang a version in London with me playing and sent it to LA in bits so they could replace my vocal with his.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The issue in the studio there was that naturally, he was finding it difficult to sing with any vibe to my pre-recorded piano part. To prevent it sounding wooden, he wanted to sing it whilst he played guitar. &nbsp;This done, they sent his vocal and guitar parts back to me, I removed the guitar and played a new piano part to his vocal - with a solo. Still with me? Then I sent the final recording back to LA and he mimed to it whilst they shot the scene.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As he doesn't play, they shot someone else's hands during the piano solo.. &nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i1.ytimg.com/s_vi/EsH0iEej71o/default.jpg?sqp=CJzM1J0F&amp;rs=AOn4CLBc7dI088_e8IFHC2re2wafXrB-Lg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/EsH0iEej71o?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/EsH0iEej71o?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div><br /><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah, the magic, the smoke and the mirrors of movies.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.clerkenwellkid.com/" target="_blank">Click for more of our music in films</a></b></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And check out this if you&nbsp;want to hear what the song sounded&nbsp;like with Jesse on&nbsp;guitar before I took over on the ivories..</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/157112213&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*For trivia fans, another of&nbsp;the the Meeting Spencer cast, <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Harelik" target="_blank">Mark Harelik</a></b>, plays Walt's doctor in Season Three of Breaking Bad. Arrested Development's Jeffrey Tambor and Batman Begin's Melinda McGraw also starred.&nbsp;</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**In Meeting Spencer, Jesse's character is an aspiring ingenue who has played supporting roles but by the end is bound for stardom. &nbsp;Sounds like it all worked out in real life too.&nbsp;<i>After&nbsp;his success as a psycho in Breaking Bad, he is rumoured to be taking the lead role in the next <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/jesse-plemons-on-star-wars-vii-lead-short-list.html" target="_blank"><b>Star Wars movie.</b></a>.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/07/smoke-mirrors-music-movies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-234897025719569578Thu, 19 Jun 2014 14:33:00 +00002014-06-19T15:33:31.933+01:00antique beatcoralinedave mckeanlondonNeil Gaimansalon for the citythe sandmanTHE LONDON SANDMAN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8mdv4Va3hfI/U6LocJGPvVI/AAAAAAAABqg/FGyxrsOfGTU/s1600/51230683018307832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8mdv4Va3hfI/U6LocJGPvVI/AAAAAAAABqg/FGyxrsOfGTU/s1600/51230683018307832.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QWDz_x0K6V4/U6LocZN70XI/AAAAAAAABqo/zg7LpLgy_I8/s1600/2X4I1710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QWDz_x0K6V4/U6LocZN70XI/AAAAAAAABqo/zg7LpLgy_I8/s1600/2X4I1710.jpg" height="300" width="208" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Re. Dave McKean at&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/salon-no-17-imaginary-london.html" target="_blank">Salon for the City</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;June 26th</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-------</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Were you a fan of Neil Gaiman's '</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(Vertigo)" target="_blank">The Sandman'&nbsp;</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">series as I was as a youngster? Somehow it made the undeniable fairytale appeal of fantasy works relevant in a way that </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lord of the Ring</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">s, however wonderful, just couldn't to urban youth.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or was it just the long The Matrix-style coats and cool haircuts? </span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Sandman&nbsp;</b>is a <i>"story about stories and how Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, is captured and subsequently learns that sometimes change is inevitable"</i>. &nbsp;It was right up my street. Plus, crucially, girls liked it too. &nbsp;The dust covers from the many The Sandman editions were made by Gaiman's friend and long-term collaborator, the British illustrator&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.paulgravett.com/index.php/profiles/creator/dave_mckean" target="_blank">Dave McKean</a></b>&nbsp;(and were so good they were eventually released in their&nbsp;own volume).&nbsp;I loved them. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dave is a horribly talented illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing,&nbsp;collage,&nbsp;painting,&nbsp;found objects,&nbsp;photography, digital art and sculpture. &nbsp;His collaborations with Gaiman on <b>The Sandman</b> and&nbsp;<b>Coraline</b>&nbsp;plus&nbsp;countless CD and book covers have inspired many other artists and writers. &nbsp;He is&nbsp;also a very nice guy.</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, he is coming to speak at our&nbsp;<b><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/salon-no-17-imaginary-london.html" target="_blank">Salon for the City</a></b>&nbsp;next week to talk / sing / play &nbsp;about London in his work. &nbsp;Hurrah!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently saw him performing live&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with <b>Neil Gaiman</b>&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at the British Library at the opening of the <b>'British Comics Unmasked'</b> show curated by our out other guest at the Salon the fantastical <b><a href="http://www.paulgravett.com/" target="_blank">Paul Gravett.</a></b> &nbsp;It was super. &nbsp;Neil has obviously done a deal with some demon - he is annoyingly good looking, seemingly eternally youthful, also horribly &nbsp;talented, massively successful - and very nice too to boot..</span></div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Here he is reading the poem <i><b>'The Saucers have Landed'&nbsp;</b></i>live in my bootleg recording.</span><br /><br /> <iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/155077873%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-r2Cwb&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dave McKean at&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/salon-no-17-imaginary-london.html" target="_blank">Salon for the City</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;June 26th</span>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-london-sandman.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-741242530241090343Sun, 18 May 2014 21:49:00 +00002014-05-27T10:44:35.284+01:0032 londonersa curious invitationAndrew MotionBobby MooreChaucer antique beatClaire TomalinDan CruikshankDavid BowieJulien TempleKeatsKen LivingstonSamuel PepysLONDON GOLD - 32 STORIES <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-DgaAXHK4Ojs%2FU3ko3Rb6moI%2FAAAAAAAABng%2FhfxP8deCaEI%2Fs1600%2Fstow1.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DgaAXHK4Ojs/U3ko3Rb6moI/AAAAAAAABng/hfxP8deCaEI/s1600/stow1.jpg" height="171" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-37XlJbtrdI8/U3ko3H-6k0I/AAAAAAAABnk/VKSQGdNL0-4/s1600/pepys1_s1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-37XlJbtrdI8/U3ko3H-6k0I/AAAAAAAABnk/VKSQGdNL0-4/s1600/pepys1_s1.jpg" height="171" width="320" /></a><br /><div>A couple of weeks back, with Suzette of A Curious Invitation, we held our&nbsp;<a href="http://32londoners.com/" target="_blank"><b>32 Londoners on The London Eye</b></a>&nbsp;event. &nbsp;Without any false modesty, I can shamelessly say it was absolutely amazing. &nbsp;OK, it rained and it was a bit shambolic at the beginning but once everyone was with their correct host and were on their way to the Eye, I believe we all had immense fun. &nbsp;I was in the green room with the speakers (some of my favourite Londoners themselves) for much of the evening and that was a particular pleasure.</div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Whether you were there or not, you may be very pleased to hear that we recorded each speaker's talk and are releasing the recordings as podcasts today Tuesday 27th May at 12.00pm GMT. &nbsp;It starts with<a href="http://32londoners.com/tbecket.html">&nbsp;<b>Anne Duggan telling the story of Thomas Becket</b></a>&nbsp;and running chronologically through our 32 Londoners to finish with Philippa Thomas on Zadie Smith.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmi4C8d_71o/U3ko3Grh3AI/AAAAAAAABnw/Hgg3NxwgwXk/s1600/chaucer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mmi4C8d_71o/U3ko3Grh3AI/AAAAAAAABnw/Hgg3NxwgwXk/s1600/chaucer1.jpg" height="171" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I have been listening to them and they are gold. Pure gold. &nbsp;London Gold. &nbsp;So if you want to hear the likes of <b>Dan Cruikshank, Claire Tomalin, Andrew Motion, Julien Temple</b> and <b>Ken Livingston</b> talking about the likes of <b>Samuel Pepys, David Bowie, Bobby Moore, Keats</b> and <b>Chaucer</b>, check 'em out at&nbsp;<b><a href="http://32londoners.com/">32londoners.com</a></b></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/05/london-gold-32-stories.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-7071137671490846002Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:00:00 +00002014-04-03T09:08:39.543+01:0032LONDONERSclerkenwellDAVID STAFFORDfleet riverLIONEL BARToliverron moodyIT'S A FINE LIFE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zrfBNopr3tc/Uzxp6VclyRI/AAAAAAAABl0/nXlZECHUCl4/s1600/bart1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zrfBNopr3tc/Uzxp6VclyRI/AAAAAAAABl0/nXlZECHUCl4/s1600/bart1.jpg" height="171" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLnoybbswv4/UzxrG56V_rI/AAAAAAAABmM/AM3s3-Mqw1U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-02+at+20.54.27.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLnoybbswv4/UzxrG56V_rI/AAAAAAAABmM/AM3s3-Mqw1U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-02+at+20.54.27.png" height="301" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is fifteen years ago today since the great London songwriter <b><a href="http://32londoners.com/lbart.html">Lionel Bart</a></b> died. &nbsp;I love his songs. &nbsp;I love the melodies, the slightly eastern european harmonies and the funny, poignant and very English words. &nbsp;For me he is up there with the Sherman brothers - particularly with the songs for the musical <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver!_%28film%29#Music">Oliver!</a> </b>- <i>It's a Fine Life,&nbsp;Consider Yourself One of Us, Food glorious Food, You Gotta Pick a Pocket or Two</i> et al.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can hear Bart's&nbsp;biographer David Stafford talk on Lionel at our&nbsp;<b><a href="http://32londoners.com/lbart.html">32Londoners event&nbsp;</a></b>on May 1st.</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-PF6JcaG2ibI%2FUzxp6lHqmZI%2FAAAAAAAABl4%2Fdx-BFVxVYqQ%2Fs1600%2FRM03.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PF6JcaG2ibI/Uzxp6lHqmZI/AAAAAAAABl4/dx-BFVxVYqQ/s1600/RM03.jpg" height="400" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the many, many things to love about</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver!_%28film%29#Music">Carol Reed's 1968 film of Oliver!</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is the way it depicts 19th Century London &nbsp;and 19th Century Clerkenwell. In particular I would say that the way it shows the Fleet valley is super realistic. &nbsp;If you know anything about the Fleet, you know that is the biggest of</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://londonslostrivers.blogspot.co.uk/">London's 'Lost Rivers'</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but is now a sewer under Farringdon Road. &nbsp;I have explored it &nbsp;- both in dreams and in waking life (you can</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2005/06/wet-dreams.html">read more about that here</a></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if you like). It has been written about a lot in recent years - there are now guided walks of the Fleet valley and even a movement to have it uncovered and integrated back into the city. &nbsp;.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fagin's den - in both Dickens' book and in the film - is set teetering in a crumbling rookery on the edge of the Fleet - which by the era of the story was a stagnant ditch of sluggish green water - the very water into which that Fagin drops his hoard of jewels at the end.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For me Lionel Bart <i>IS</i> Fagin - not the Fagin of the book or of the earlier David Lean film but Ron Moody's Fagin,&nbsp;bursting&nbsp;with life and mischief, a rogue who is almost good in spite of himself, funny, self aware and, in the end, quite tragic.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lionel's life was tragic too. &nbsp;Like that of child star&nbsp;<b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Wild">Jack Wild&nbsp;</a></b>who plays The Artful Dodger in the same film, it had the archetypal rise and fall trajectory of myth. He was an East End boy born in poverty and obscurity who became fabulously wealthy and famous and then blew it and lost it all. &nbsp;There was some redemption at the end thankfully and it is rare to see a photograph of him where he isn't smiling. &nbsp;Like Fagin in Carol Reed's film (if not in the book), after a fabulous full life of terrible joys and sorrow, it's nice to&nbsp;imagine he picked himself and headed off into the sunset whilst&nbsp;<i><b>"Reviewing the Situation'.</b></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>-------------------------------------------------------------------</i></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Stafford talks on Lionel at </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://32londoners.com/lbart.html">32Londoners</a>&nbsp;</b></i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>on May 1st</i>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jXA58mVyv24" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><br /><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">"I'm reviewing the situation.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I don't want nobody hurt for me,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I think I'd better think it out again!</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hey!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I'm a bad 'un and a bad 'un I shall stay!</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">You'll be seeing no transformation,</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">But it's wrong to be a rogue in ev'ry way.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Or made to do the dirt for me.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This rotten life is not for me.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">It's getting far too hot for me</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">There is no in between for me</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">But who will change the scene for me?</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Don't want no one to rob for me.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">But who will find a job for me?</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Hey!"</span></i><br /> <i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /></span></i>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/04/its-fine-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-1779582619854294774Tue, 25 Mar 2014 14:55:00 +00002014-03-25T18:40:25.924+00:0032 londonersa curious invitationantique beatmay 1stmay daythe london eyeAN EYEFUL OF LONDON<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e5oqOEP8Z8o/UzFXyHdVhoI/AAAAAAAABkE/S6SrCfNCVlY/s1600/logo_s2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VNP_SODMz18/UzFZC9cGtpI/AAAAAAAABkc/8o8JPRsr8MA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-25+at+10.22.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VNP_SODMz18/UzFZC9cGtpI/AAAAAAAABkc/8o8JPRsr8MA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-25+at+10.22.20.png" height="184" width="200" /></a><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-e5oqOEP8Z8o%2FUzFXyHdVhoI%2FAAAAAAAABkE%2FS6SrCfNCVlY%2Fs1600%2Flogo_s2.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e5oqOEP8Z8o/UzFXyHdVhoI/AAAAAAAABkE/S6SrCfNCVlY/s1600/logo_s2.jpg" height="101" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--jzoqMlGXa4/UzFYZuDeQ8I/AAAAAAAABkU/Ev4RWF1iGck/s1600/lon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F--jzoqMlGXa4%2FUzFYZuDeQ8I%2FAAAAAAAABkU%2FEv4RWF1iGck%2Fs1600%2Flon.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">As well as looking for teleportation chambers when we were in Paris last month, we walked the city up and down. &nbsp;That is the best way to uncover its <a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/salon-no-14-myth-of-city.html" target="_blank"><b>myths</b></a>** I believe.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">We also benefitted from having a room right at the top of a tiny hotel in Montmarte. &nbsp;It was most unusual in that it was the first hotel I have stayed in for ages that actually had a window in the bathroom. In fact, it had "a loo with a view" - from which you could contemplate the Eiffel tower.</span><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I like the tower - as do most Parisians - though they wouldn't think of going up it. &nbsp;Like The London Eye, it is associated almost entirely with visitors. But like The Eye, it gives a wonderful perspective on the city and is a fun, childlike thing to visit. &nbsp;Our <a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Salon for the City</b> </a>is all about perspectives on the city, so it was a pleasure when myself with&nbsp;<b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/news/2014/03/32-londoners-on-the-london-eye/" target="_blank">Antique Beat</a></b> and <b>Suzette Field (of <a href="http://acuriousinvitation.com/" target="_blank">A Curious Invitation)</a></b> were asked to suggest ideas which could reconnect The Eye with the city it observes. &nbsp;We did, and here, after months of secret planning is the result:&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b><a href="http://32londoners.com/" target="_blank">32 LONDONERS ON THE LONDON EYE</a></b></div><div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRr0w8dJgvw/UzFnJdx-n5I/AAAAAAAABks/hPcCoxyNkbw/s1600/a46ea4f8-dcc0-481e-92ab-9dcc1dcaa59b.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GRr0w8dJgvw/UzFnJdx-n5I/AAAAAAAABks/hPcCoxyNkbw/s1600/a46ea4f8-dcc0-481e-92ab-9dcc1dcaa59b.png" height="320" style="cursor: move;" width="202" /></a>"On the evening of May 1st the EDF Energy London Eye will be set to a special slow rotation speed and each of its 32 capsules will be given over to a talk by a well-known authority on a famous Londoner. The subjects will range from <i>Thomas Becket to Joseph Bazalgette, from WS Gilbert to Ray Davies and from Queen Victoria to Zadie Smith</i>. The speakers themselves will be a roll call of those who have contributed to the capital’s cultural legacy: from <i>former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, to ex-Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, film director Julien Temple, broadcaster Robert Elms and biographers Claire Tomalin and Kate Williams.</i></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;">And to commemorate the occasion our friends <a href="http://www.hendricksgin.com/" target="_blank"><b>Hendrick’s Gin </b></a>have devised <b><i>32 bespoke cocktails</i>,<i> one in honour of each London borough</i>.</b> Each guest will be served a complimentary cocktail in capsule during the talk.<br /><br />After disembarkation there will be an opportunity to share a drink with your fellow passengers and speakers and to discuss the talks, the city and Londoners in general"</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><div style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">I am so pleased that we have pulled it off. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">We rather hope that this will become an annual London May Day institution.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: x-small;">Be quick if you want to be part of it. It will&nbsp;sell out.</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e5oqOEP8Z8o/UzFXyHdVhoI/AAAAAAAABkE/S6SrCfNCVlY/s1600/logo_s2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>* To Uncover the <b>Myths of London's Square Mile</b>, &nbsp;join us this <b><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/salon-no-14-myth-of-city.html" target="_blank">Thursday 27th March at Westminster Arts</a></b></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/03/an-eyeful-of-london.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-14062917910568519Thu, 06 Feb 2014 11:44:00 +00002014-02-07T21:01:35.618+00:00arcanabrompton cemeterybrompton time machinecleopatra's needleEGYPTegyptologyjoseph bonomimontmartrepsychic weaponssamuel warnerstrange attractorteleportationOUT OF THE BLUE AND DANS LE NOIR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qD55RNn-iko/UvNSudo5GzI/AAAAAAAABiM/IUrZLjOESic/s1600/IMG_2723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qD55RNn-iko/UvNSudo5GzI/AAAAAAAABiM/IUrZLjOESic/s1600/IMG_2723.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was in Paris last week. &nbsp;One of the reasons we went was to try to locate&nbsp;the alleged 'teleportation&nbsp;chamber' in the cemetery of Montmartre. &nbsp;I wrote&nbsp;about the London funerary teleportation grid made by </span><a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/tunnels-teleportation-and-exploded.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Joseph Bonom</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">i and t</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he Clerkenwell inventor&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Samuel Warner </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/time-space-and-city.html" target="_blank">here</a>. &nbsp;</b><br /><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-JL3SBlyAzaM%2FUvNSwrI2PJI%2FAAAAAAAABiY%2FSnBMXR7DQ3c%2Fs1600%2FIMG_2724.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JL3SBlyAzaM/UvNSwrI2PJI/AAAAAAAABiY/SnBMXR7DQ3c/s1600/IMG_2724.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remain undecided on&nbsp;whether Warner was a complete fraud, a visionary or just deluded. &nbsp;Amongst several other&nbsp;inventions, he claimed to have developed a missile capable of destroying ships from a distance: <b><i>'a teleportation bomb'</i>.</b> &nbsp;In a period of war and abiding mistrustful&nbsp;relations with France, The Royal Navy were so keen for an advantage that they paid&nbsp;him to develop this extraordinary weapon but proved unable to reproduce his results independently.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/tunnels-teleportation-and-exploded.html" target="_blank">Bonomi</a> was a believer for sure&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and it was allegedly with his occult knowledge that Warner had developed&nbsp;this &nbsp;'psychic torpedo'.&nbsp;</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MSSEcF6nG4E/UvNsWGLMTuI/AAAAAAAABjA/zCPi6IByJBg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-06+at+10.57.32.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MSSEcF6nG4E/UvNsWGLMTuI/AAAAAAAABjA/zCPi6IByJBg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-02-06+at+10.57.32.png" height="320" width="208" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When&nbsp;convincing the military&nbsp;of the efficacy of the mind bomb proved unlikely, they&nbsp;turned their joint efforts and techniques&nbsp;to a semi-commercial venture - <a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/time-space-and-city.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">the London teleportation system</a><i>&nbsp;.</i>T</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">his was constructed across</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;the seven major London cemeteries and sponsored by Lord Kilmorey, but&nbsp;secretly&nbsp;Warner continued with his military schemes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In amongst the extravagant&nbsp;claims and self&nbsp;justification of his various books on the subject of National&nbsp;defence, there appear to be references to another teleportation chamber hidden in a Parisian graveyard. &nbsp;This may have&nbsp;been intended for the&nbsp;purposes&nbsp;of&nbsp;reconnaissance or spying - hence the employment of owl symbolism- &nbsp;but</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;it seems to have been&nbsp;designed without Bonomi's&nbsp;assistance for it does not bear the typically Egyptian stylings he favoured in London. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This cannot have been so that it&nbsp;would not stand out in Montmartre - it&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">lacks any religious decoration</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;and being&nbsp;<b><i>the only structure in the graveyard engineered from blue&nbsp;ship metal</i></b>&nbsp;is not that difficult to spot when you know what you are&nbsp;looking for. &nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The&nbsp;naval connection is evident in the side panels which have cast images of ships with&nbsp;engines on them - perhaps the fantastical machines used to&nbsp;launch Warner's occult weapons?</span></div><div>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whist in Montmarte, we stumbled over another most peculiar monument - that of <b>the amazing 3D Doctor</b>&nbsp;Guy Pitchal. &nbsp;Whilst&nbsp;mysterious and odd, this relies on a more obvious&nbsp;psychic&nbsp;technique to prove there is&nbsp;life of a sort after death. &nbsp;Press play to see why..</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyuxYfSLSZmRg9Ryl56dxhJ-VqH3K5e3vlQ8sKNWxsoPT-ggDplGB-suTXBRcgda7_bzvYznk8pNQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/02/out-of-blue-and-dans-le-noir.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-6663749816686591841Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:18:00 +00002014-01-29T13:23:58.867+00:00antique beatbart and bakerchevroletelectro-swinggeorge meliesi love the rainrainrainy dayThe Real Tuesday WeldumbrellaweatherI LOVE MY UMBRELLA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4AtwPEpGGP4/UujldQUyW6I/AAAAAAAABgE/2UHg5UeNPRA/s1600/I_Love_The_Rain_Umbrella_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4AtwPEpGGP4/UujldQUyW6I/AAAAAAAABgE/2UHg5UeNPRA/s1600/I_Love_The_Rain_Umbrella_front.jpg" height="142" width="200" /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sk7YxCOppnE/UujleINcsII/AAAAAAAABgI/eYNqAB337tI/s1600/I_Love_The_Rain_Umbrella_detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sk7YxCOppnE/UujleINcsII/AAAAAAAABgI/eYNqAB337tI/s1600/I_Love_The_Rain_Umbrella_detail.jpg" height="142" width="200" /></a><br /><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It feels as if this rain will never stop"</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;you say, gazing out at a very damp London and feeling rather like one of the kids at the beginning of The Cat in a Hat. &nbsp;But I don't mind. &nbsp;It is public knowledge that I love the Rain and, if we needed any more proof, &nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/accessories/2014/01/i-love-my-umbrella/" target="_blank">Antique Beat</a> </b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are releasing the original version of The Real Tuesday Weld's </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I Love the Rain"</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> -</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;<a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/accessories/2014/01/i-love-my-umbrella/" target="_blank"><b>on an umbrella</b></a>.</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, you read that right, they are putting out an Ep of the song with brand new music and remixes </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ON AN UMBRELLA</b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - and it's totally fabulous.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our US friends may know the song from that very nice&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkAFM8WNzRs" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Chevrolet 'Rainy Day' ad</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">&nbsp;and one of the remixes is by our very swinging friends </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bartandbaker.com/" target="_blank">Bart and Bake</a></b><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bartandbaker.com/" target="_blank">r</a> </b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- the Parisian Kings of Electro-Swing**. It is toe-tappingly cute.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-afrE3pw1isM/UujluXR-jBI/AAAAAAAABgU/Al1kvADTuwg/s1600/i+love+the+rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-afrE3pw1isM/UujluXR-jBI/AAAAAAAABgU/Al1kvADTuwg/s1600/i+love+the+rain.jpg" height="198" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So forget about Wet, Wet, Wet (I'm sure you'll be happy to), if you want to be singing - and swinging - in the rain, this is the way to do it. It was partly inspired by Fred Astaire, partly by Paul Newman and Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. &nbsp;It is <i>'a love letter to the clouds' </i>and<i>&nbsp;</i>a super stylish shelter from the coming storm.. whatever the weather with you. </span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, if you should live somewhere very hot and dry like my Californian friends, what better way to signal your disapproval of those constant blue skies or hide from the oppressive monotony of The Eternal Sunshine? Then again, you&nbsp;could always get <b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/clothes/2013/07/i-love-the-rain-t-shirt/" target="_blank">the matching T-shirt.</a>..</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/accessories/2014/01/i-love-my-umbrella/" target="_blank">The umbrella is a beautifully made limited edition and&nbsp;can be bought&nbsp;</a></b></u><b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/accessories/2014/01/i-love-my-umbrella/" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;- </b>just in time for Valentines if you are super quick.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/N5Kv7NVHXx4?list=PLA9ECBC89D3354D73" width="500"></iframe></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qlUjInQLbq0/UujmMQB8J_I/AAAAAAAABgc/fbFMbYOVObk/s1600/RAINMAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qlUjInQLbq0/UujmMQB8J_I/AAAAAAAABgc/fbFMbYOVObk/s1600/RAINMAN.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>**Speaking of Electro-Swing, I sometime get asked&nbsp;</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>if I invented it. &nbsp;It is true that I had been mixing 1930/s jazz with electronic beats right back in the nineties and I suppose&nbsp;"I Love the Rain"&nbsp;may have been the first of the genre.&nbsp;</i></span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would be a fibber to say I don't find it nice when people remember that, b</i><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ut the answer to&nbsp;the enquiry is: 'No, I didn't invent Electro Swing' - because we called it '</span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/wp/artists/the-real-tuesday-weld/" target="_blank">Antique Beat'</a>&nbsp;</b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- and that means&nbsp;something more - it is where&nbsp;memory and melody meet.</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I was, and remain, as much influenced by the sound and by the song as by the swing and have never liked being part of a scene. That is why we created our own. &nbsp;And that is why when dear Chris Tofu introduces me as&nbsp;'The Godfather of Electro-Swing"&nbsp;&nbsp;I always protest:&nbsp;"No, Chris, no, no, I keep telling you - I'm the <b>Fairy</b> <b>Godmother </b>of Electro-Swing.."</i></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2014/01/i-love-my-umbrella.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-6747774016351715067Tue, 26 Nov 2013 12:16:00 +00002013-11-26T12:16:22.818+00:00arcanafred astairefu manchulimehouselimehouse blueslost londonopiumratcliffe highway murdersserial killerthomas boltonvampireDARK DREAMS OF LIMEHOUSE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yU_lcNoMCI0/UpSOULK4USI/AAAAAAAABes/MK6BbpX64Ko/s1600/791px-Sketch_of_John_Williams'_corpse_on_the_death_cart,_published_4_years_after_the_event.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yU_lcNoMCI0/UpSOULK4USI/AAAAAAAABes/MK6BbpX64Ko/s200/791px-Sketch_of_John_Williams'_corpse_on_the_death_cart,_published_4_years_after_the_event.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ks-0JaBl0VI/UpSOUK0jmZI/AAAAAAAABeo/QVwx4ZYsiNY/s1600/800px-Ratcliffe_Highway_Murders_-_Procession_to_interment_of_the_supposed_murderer_John_William.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ks-0JaBl0VI/UpSOUK0jmZI/AAAAAAAABeo/QVwx4ZYsiNY/s200/800px-Ratcliffe_Highway_Murders_-_Procession_to_interment_of_the_supposed_murderer_John_William.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week we have our last<a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Salon for the City</b></a>&nbsp;of the year at Westminster Library. We will be hearing all about Limehouse - the literary Limehouse and the literal Limehouse.&nbsp;<i>Opium dens, criminal masterminds, the Yellow Peril and Edwardian Bogeymen</i>. &nbsp;It is a strange area and almost lost now as Thom Bolton, one of the speakers will relate. It was also one of the last known sites of another object on the<i>&nbsp;London Arcana Hunters list</i>. I have written about various of these before. There are currently ten -&nbsp;<a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/anatomy-of-city.html"><b>The Vestris Hams</b></a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<b><a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/london-box.html" target="_blank">Joanna Southcott's box&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;</b>being another two.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The object in&nbsp;question is the skull of the serial killer&nbsp;John Williams.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S-PRoOv6NPw/UpSOUNyCgVI/AAAAAAAABew/Fy0jX16xjGA/s1600/Post_Mortem_sketch_of_John_Williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S-PRoOv6NPw/UpSOUNyCgVI/AAAAAAAABew/Fy0jX16xjGA/s200/Post_Mortem_sketch_of_John_Williams.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was unearthed during excavations in 1862 by a gas company at the point where Cannon Street Road and Cable Street cross near&nbsp;<i>Hawksmoor's St George's in the East.</i>&nbsp;&nbsp;The landlord of The Crown and Dolphin a local public house, fished it out as a souvenir and kept it displayed behind the bar. The pub has since become derelict and the whereabouts of the skull are unknown but it is thought that it was stolen or bought from the landlord a couple of years before by an occultist as&nbsp;<i>John&nbsp;Williams was thought to be a vampire.</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mgyNyidJqbU/UpSOUq0ZnvI/AAAAAAAABe0/or1LciIQ-AU/s1600/Ratcliffe_Highway_Murders_Reward_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mgyNyidJqbU/UpSOUq0ZnvI/AAAAAAAABe0/or1LciIQ-AU/s200/Ratcliffe_Highway_Murders_Reward_poster.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He had been buried at the crossroads as it was commonly held that such a&nbsp;location would confuse an evil ghost arising from the grave. In addition, and to ensure he could not rejoin the Limehouse living, a stake was driven though his heart. &nbsp; His crime was the alleged infamous brutal spree killing of two local families - seven vicious and apparently motiveless crimes involving decapitation, mauling and dismemberment. I say 'alleged' because it is not completely certain that Williams perpetrated&nbsp;the crimes. &nbsp;But is likely that even if he&nbsp;did not,&nbsp;the authorities&nbsp;wanted him out of the way as he was&nbsp;thought to be part of <i>a wider vampiric cabal which included various members of the aristocracy</i> .&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some believe that the removal of the skull allowed William's spirit to escape, move north to Whitechapel to become the force behind the later more&nbsp;famous&nbsp;<b>Jack the Ripper</b>&nbsp;murders. Who knows? But Limehouse itself continued to have a&nbsp;reputation for wrong doings, depravity and evil deeds - flowering in the exotic persona of the oriental villain &nbsp;<b>Doctor Fu Manchu </b>who had his headquarters in &nbsp;Lmehsoue opium den. Now of course it is the home and workplace of various city bankers..</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Go figure.</span><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>On a lighter note, here are Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremner</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>dancing to a dream of Limehouse Blues</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>&nbsp; <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/K2F2KAEdjHU" width="420"></iframe>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/11/dark-dreams-of-limehouse.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-796839500290834413Fri, 08 Nov 2013 11:03:00 +00002013-11-08T11:05:37.449+00:00cheesefoodfood wasterationingthe blitzBREAD-CRUMBS IN BARNET<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2iFEDb831uA/UnzAWXKYTWI/AAAAAAAABdw/9OAOh013iXk/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2iFEDb831uA/UnzAWXKYTWI/AAAAAAAABdw/9OAOh013iXk/s200/Unknown-1.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There has been a lot in the papers recently about how much food we waste. &nbsp;Vast quantities are dumped daily by supermarkets, food chains and restaurants and apparently the average family (whatever that is) regularly discards up to six meals a week, throwing away around £700 a year. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>You can make an album for £700.</i></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a culprit myself although if absorbed in work, I don't leave the house for days and end up eating absolutely everything - including those weird pickled cherries that aunts give you at Christmas.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8b-Ex4j1Czo/UnzAWXc2CeI/AAAAAAAABds/QsntbH7bkBA/s1600/Unknown-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8b-Ex4j1Czo/UnzAWXc2CeI/AAAAAAAABds/QsntbH7bkBA/s200/Unknown-2.jpeg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it wasn't always this way. &nbsp;During the war years it was illegal to waste food. &nbsp;I was reading the other day about a woman in Barnet who was arrested and &nbsp;prosecuted for <i>putting out bread crumbs for the birds in her garden</i>.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crumbs. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The men from the ministry could come and inspect your bins - and your kitchen cupboards, checking for black market contraband. &nbsp;Mind you, given what you were allowed to eat under rationing, probably not much was voluntarily wasted anyway and it is perhaps understandable that people would do whatever they could to get a bit extra. &nbsp;For an adult: 4 ounces of bacon, 2&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ounces&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of butter, 2&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ounces&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of tea, 2&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ounces&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of cheese etc. per week. Per week! (I probably absent-mindedly just ate 2 ounces of cheese whilst reading the paper). &nbsp;There was no ice-cream.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YVLNYKRi2BI/UnzAioMBVFI/AAAAAAAABeI/IJxIAbCCFE0/s1600/Unknown-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YVLNYKRi2BI/UnzAioMBVFI/AAAAAAAABeI/IJxIAbCCFE0/s200/Unknown-4.jpeg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It must have been an extraordinarily tough time - but quite nice in some ways: there were pigs and sheep grazing in Hyde Park and Green Park, allotments everywhere. &nbsp;You were allowed, even encouraged, to keep chickens. &nbsp;Even the king and queen had ration books (<i>"Any pate de foie gras this week?" "No Ma'am, sorry</i>"). &nbsp; The Upper Norwood Rabbit Club" held talks on which breed were most suitable for '<i>the production of flesh and fur'..</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But loo paper was in very short supply.</span></div><div><div style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Right, what's for lunch?</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div></div><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/75439911%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-Fkn2f&amp;color=ff6600&amp;auto_play=false&amp;show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/11/bread-crumbs-in-barnet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-2081613482327790771Wed, 02 Oct 2013 08:44:00 +00002013-10-02T21:57:31.918+01:00carnival of knowledgedeath maskshendrickslast will and testamentlondon day of the deadLONDON DAY OF THE DEAD<b>October 12th at 33 Fitzroy Square.</b><br /><i>How to die In London</i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U5z8fsU5Nzk/UkvblsBCu2I/AAAAAAAABcU/4Pa6zAx7E4M/s1600/Salon+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U5z8fsU5Nzk/UkvblsBCu2I/AAAAAAAABcU/4Pa6zAx7E4M/s320/Salon+2.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oma2DDv8Gqg/UkvZkOF99EI/AAAAAAAABbo/_7-RQ2dLifU/s1600/7+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oma2DDv8Gqg/UkvZkOF99EI/AAAAAAAABbo/_7-RQ2dLifU/s320/7+copy.jpg" width="251" /></a><br /><b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/news/2013/09/london-day-of-the-dead/" target="_blank">Antique Beat</a></b>&nbsp;have programmed an incredible day of Death and the City related things for the&nbsp;<i><a href="http://www.hendricksgin.com/carnivalofknowledge/london-events.aspx#content_saturday" target="_blank">Hendricks Carnival of Knowledge</a>&nbsp;</i>in&nbsp;a gorgeous Grade I listed Robert Adam house in central&nbsp;London.<br /><br />At one of our Salons for the City at Westminster Library earlier this year, I asked the question of the audience: &nbsp;<i>"How many people think they will die in London?"</i>. &nbsp;Surprisingly few responded in the affirmative. &nbsp;I wasn't sure sure whether that was because most people plan to leave at some point - or&nbsp;<i>whether they don't think they are going to die anywhere..</i><br /><i><br /></i>The latter possibility is leant weight by the fact that&nbsp;<b>two thirds of people here haven't made a will</b>. &nbsp;We became intrigued by this a few years back and included a lovely free Last will and testament form in the special edition of&nbsp;<i>The Real Tuesday Weld</i>&nbsp;album&nbsp;<b><a href="http://antiquebeat.co.uk/products/music/2013/02/the-clerkenwell-kid-live-at-the-end-of-the-world/" target="_blank">"At the End of the World'</a></b>. &nbsp;Despite that, most of my friends still haven't made one - although in the light of the most superficial questioning they seem to have quite strong preferences for what should and shouldn't happen to them and their stuff when they are gone! &nbsp;I see planning your end as an enjoyable, creative exercise - like designing a party. &nbsp;It is salutary, sure, &nbsp;but in a positive way. &nbsp;You feel rather refreshed and ready for action when its done - and also much more likely to stop dicking around and get on with what you really should be doing.<br /><br />Anyway, &nbsp;when Hendricks asked us to put together a day for their Carnival as part of London Cocktail week, it seemed a perfect opportunity to explore&nbsp;<b>London Beyond London</b>&nbsp;in some detail.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jMGkXJgX0LY/UkvbQhIazvI/AAAAAAAABcM/4z2krmnZxP4/s1600/salon+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jMGkXJgX0LY/UkvbQhIazvI/AAAAAAAABcM/4z2krmnZxP4/s200/salon+1.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kkp4N4UhTCA/UkvZw5xFJmI/AAAAAAAABb4/iIPCIx6eZqI/s1600/meet+the+undertaker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kkp4N4UhTCA/UkvZw5xFJmI/AAAAAAAABb4/iIPCIx6eZqI/s200/meet+the+undertaker.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />So there will be a series of talks - arranged as our salons are with two related speakers followed by conversation. &nbsp;And it is an incredible line up - Historian of Death Robert Stephenson, Curator of Osteology Jelena Bekvalac, London Way of Death's Brian Parsons, Londonist's Matt Brown, Future Death expert Dr John Troyer, Fashion guru Amber Jane Butchart, the BFI's Will Fowler and Dead Social's James Norris.<br /><br />They will cover everything from<a href="http://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/11037/chk/e285" target="_blank">&nbsp;<b>the mediaeval way of death</b></a><b>&nbsp;</b>to the future of cemeteries. We have&nbsp;<b>death mask making workshops</b>, we have Dresses to Die for. &nbsp;You can spend time in a coffin, you can meet an Undertaker, make a will (provided), find out what will happen to your Facebook account when you are gone, learn how to carry on updating it from beyond the grave - and of course drink cocktails.<br /><br />My only regret is that I will be MC-ing rather than just hanging out.<br /><br />Several things are free and drop in, others require booking.<br /><b>Full details and reservations&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hendricksgin.com/carnivalofknowledge/london-events.aspx#content_saturday" target="_blank">here</a></b><br /><br /><i>See you on the other side then..</i><br /><div><br /></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/10/london-day-of-dead.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-6171210470578047379Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:04:00 +00002013-09-13T15:08:31.768+01:00hendrickslondon day of the dead. unbuilt londonmatt brownst etienneLONDON BEYOND US<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GfjgrqeJaHQ/UjMYZ6eH58I/AAAAAAAABaA/xINHMVukwTY/s1600/Tower-Bridge-2-1024x362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GfjgrqeJaHQ/UjMYZ6eH58I/AAAAAAAABaA/xINHMVukwTY/s640/Tower-Bridge-2-1024x362.jpg" width="225" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>"The Future's not what it used to be Mr Angel"</b></i> says the mysterious Robert De Niro character in one of my favourite films and in London that has certainly always been (and will always be) the case. &nbsp;Walking around the town, I often think about things the way they might have been. &nbsp;There are two aspects to this - firstly, if the Luftwaffe hadn't bombed us and if the post-war planners hadn't had their way, London would be a very different place. &nbsp;Better? Perhaps - certainly if you read the book <i>"Lost Panoramas of London",&nbsp;</i>it is tragic to realise just what has gone. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />At one of our <a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Salons for the City</b></a> recently, <b>St Etienne </b>were talking about the excellent 1960s documentary "<i>The London That Nobody Knows"</i> narrated by James Mason. &nbsp;Certainly that is in part a mourning for a London that was passing away but as Bob Stanley said: <i>"You are also struck by what a shit hole much of the city was!".&nbsp;</i>St Etienne's <a href="http://heavenlyrecordings.com/news/2012/08/saint-etienne-film-%E2%80%98what-have-you-done-today-mervyn-day%E2%80%99-limited-edition-release/" target="_blank">"<b><i>Mervyn Day"</i></b></a> film documents the area of East London which became <a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02270/Olympic-Park_2270568b.jpg" target="_blank">the Olympic Park</a>. &nbsp;Whilst the park itself seems like some other-worldly Huxleyian Utopia detached from London proper, I can assure you from personal experience that what it&nbsp;replaced&nbsp;was hideous and not to be mourned. &nbsp;I briefly lived in a house on a hill which has been completely obliterated by the very groovy Velodrome. (I was actually more shocked by the &nbsp;removal of the hill than of the house until I discovered that it was only a Victorian rubbish dump..).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The Olympic Park is a vision that has actually been built but the other thing about London not being the way it might have been, is the ghostly presence of all the plans and dreams that were never realised - either for lack of will, money or conviction, occasionally because the citizens successfully resisted them or because <i>they were completely barking mad.</i></span><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eVMk25lxZFU/UjMYA8gkOKI/AAAAAAAABZY/e2kkNxPjA8I/s1600/eco_main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eVMk25lxZFU/UjMYA8gkOKI/AAAAAAAABZY/e2kkNxPjA8I/s320/eco_main.jpg" width="222" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eVMk25lxZFU/UjMYA8gkOKI/AAAAAAAABZY/e2kkNxPjA8I/s1600/eco_main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mile high towers, gigantic pyramids of death on the Thames, a 75m statue of Britannia on Greenwich Hill, Jetsons style monorails, a motorway through Covent Garden &nbsp;- it could have all been so much...different. &nbsp;Of course the visionaries are still at it.<b><i><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/salon-no-9-london-futures.html" target="_blank"> At our next Salon,</a></i></b> <a href="http://londonist.com/" target="_blank"><b>Matt Brown of Londonist</b></a> and London planner&nbsp;<b>Andrew Collinge</b> will be discussing some of the crazy and not so crazy ideas that have, or haven't, got off the drawing board.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">But we all know one thing for sure about the future don't we? &nbsp;That is that it will end - well at least from our point of view. &nbsp;I don't think even religious people believe that time persists after death do they? &nbsp;This of course, along with the city itself, has long been of fascination to me so I am very pleased that we have programmed a <b>London Day of the Dead</b> as part of the <i><b><a href="http://vimeo.com/73299814" target="_blank">Hendricks Carnival of knowledge</a></b></i> at a beautiful Georgian house in the centre of town. &nbsp;It will be on October 12th and I have to say it looks absolutely fabulous. &nbsp;</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/73299814" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/73299814">Hendrick's Carnival Of Knowledge</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user19357961">Hendrick's Gin</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/09/london-beyond-us.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-9171630604485750556Tue, 13 Aug 2013 10:44:00 +00002013-08-17T13:54:09.218+01:00findhorngun batteriestidetimeFINDHORN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4QdT7sll4HE/UgoLLzgjJ3I/AAAAAAAABYo/jdSFMHpx7Xc/s1600/IMG_2038+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4QdT7sll4HE/UgoLLzgjJ3I/AAAAAAAABYo/jdSFMHpx7Xc/s200/IMG_2038+2.JPG" width="182" /></span></a></div><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">---------------------------------------</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Giant mute heads</b></span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sand-sinking into sun</b></span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Gaze out still for ones</b></span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Who will never now come*</b></span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">---------------------------------------</span></i><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i>*On the beach between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Findhorn" target="_blank"><b>Findhorn</b> </a>and Burghead, lie several gun batteries intended to repel Axis invaders during the second world war. &nbsp;Time and tide are taking them now in the way the enemy never could.</span>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/08/findhorn.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-1249580773343879307Sun, 04 Aug 2013 14:26:00 +00002013-08-10T09:48:32.415+01:00chopin. gainsbourgjo staffordjose joseken doddTHE MOST BEAUTIFUL TUNE IN THE WORLD<i style="font-family: Helvetica;">A little while back, I was asked to provide a mix-tape for <b><a href="http://voixdecassandre.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Voice of Cassandra </a></b>radio show. &nbsp;I confidently called it&nbsp;<b>The Most Beautiful Tune in the World&nbsp;</b>without hubris or fear of contradiction because the title is backed up by the facts. I</i><i style="font-family: Helvetica;">t will be broadcast at various places around the globe this week.&nbsp;Full details of where and when are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Voice-of-Cassandre-Mixtape/172854209405065?ref=hl" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> if you would like to listen to it amongst all the other things you have on - or here it is starting about 1 minute in on <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/greggringo/the-real-tuesday-weld-the-most-beautiful-tune-in-the-world/" target="_blank"><b>Mixcloud:</b></a></i><br /><i style="font-family: Helvetica;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i><i style="font-family: Helvetica;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="240" src="//www.mixcloud.com/widget/iframe/?feed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mixcloud.com%2Fgreggringo%2Fthe-real-tuesday-weld-the-most-beautiful-tune-in-the-world%2F&amp;embed_uuid=6b76dd3b-a52f-4f93-af68-6aaa914cf8b2&amp;stylecolor=020804&amp;embed_type=widget_standard&amp;hide_cover=" width="520"></iframe></i><br /><i style="font-family: Helvetica;">----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</i><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eL_CrlLG20E/Uf5fej2DpNI/AAAAAAAABYY/_6kHqTzGx2M/s1600/images-6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eL_CrlLG20E/Uf5fej2DpNI/AAAAAAAABYY/_6kHqTzGx2M/s320/images-6.jpeg" width="280" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What do <b>Ken Dodd</b> and <b>Serge Gainsbourg</b> have in common?&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Or how about <b>Leroy Homes</b>&nbsp;and <b>Sarah Brightman</b>?&nbsp;And what do they all share with <b>Muse</b> and <b>James Last</b>?</span><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">The list could get much longer because they and many others have written or performed songs derived from one melody: that of<b> Chopin's&nbsp;Etude Op.10 No.3 in E Major</b>.&nbsp;Some have credited him, some haven't but fortunately for all of them, music copyright does not extend back beyond the first couple of decades of the twentieth century. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USZi3UYT7lM/Uf5erWZX1wI/AAAAAAAABX8/HtkA3A15DG4/s1600/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USZi3UYT7lM/Uf5erWZX1wI/AAAAAAAABX8/HtkA3A15DG4/s320/images-3.jpeg" width="280" /></a>If it did and if there was a still a Chopin estate, it would be very wealthy on the back of this sequence of notes alone.&nbsp;There is probably no need to analyse why when you have heard it - the composer himself considered it his most beautiful tune and one he couldn't surpass.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mPZgcpQu2xw/Uf5epBMH-7I/AAAAAAAABXU/ZSkcbdE-OpE/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mPZgcpQu2xw/Uf5epBMH-7I/AAAAAAAABXU/ZSkcbdE-OpE/s320/Unknown.jpeg" width="280" /></a>Fairly early on, the poignancy of the melody led to it being christened "<i>Pathetique", "Farewell"</i> and most popularly: <i>'"Tristesse'"&nbsp;</i>although Chopin himself never used that name. &nbsp;The titles of the various derivatives have often had a similar air of romantic melancholy: <i>"Autumn in my Heart",</i> <i>"My dreams of love", "Never Again"</i> and so on.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">The original has been used to improve the score of several movies and even recently a manga animation (<i>Wakare No Kyooku)</i>. &nbsp;I have included a bit from that and from the 1943 film <i>"I walked with a Zombie"</i> because it is such a great movie. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The various derivatives vary in quality enormously.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had to leave out some ("<i>Parting Person Melody"</i> by Jolin Tsai Li Ren Jie for instance is unbearably awful). &nbsp;<b>Jerry Vale'</b>s <i>'This Day of Days'</i> only made it because it sounds old and scratchy. The lyric makes me gag as I suspect would <b>Jose Jose</b>'s <i>'Divina Ilusion'</i> if my Spanish was any better. &nbsp;I quite like the corny <b>Ken Dodd</b> sixties hit <i>"So deep is the night"</i>&nbsp; (although it's difficult to get into to a fully romantic mood thinking of Ken with his mad-hatter buck teeth and tickling stick). &nbsp;Most recently, those cheeky magpies&nbsp;<b>Muse</b> smuggled a bit of the melody into their&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Olympics</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;piece</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><i style="font-family: Helvetica;">"Survival"</i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;which also contained a bit of that other much copied classical tune&nbsp;</span><b style="font-family: Helvetica;">Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor</b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;(plus what sounds like Laurie Anderson's </span><i style="font-family: Helvetica;">"Oh Superman"&nbsp;</i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">and a couple of Queen songs..).</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">My personal favourites are the gorgeous&nbsp;<i>'No other Love' </i>by <b>Jo Stafford</b> and of course <i>'Lemon Incest'</i> by the <b>Gainsbourg</b>s - the latter being the only version which seems to have a healthily careless disregard for the romantic naivety of the original.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-most-beautiful-tune-in-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-1629848023569132857Thu, 11 Jul 2013 20:00:00 +00002013-07-11T21:06:44.670+01:00antique beatday of the deaddeathhendrickslondonlondon arcanalondon dreamtimewest norwoodLIFE AFTER LONDON<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EYYs7VZ8bNo/Ud8K7o8xQTI/AAAAAAAABTY/wAZDQjgQNcI/s1600/map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EYYs7VZ8bNo/Ud8K7o8xQTI/AAAAAAAABTY/wAZDQjgQNcI/s320/map.gif" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Death has rather been in the air of late. &nbsp;Despite the sunshine that has finally blazed London in light and with Andy Murray radiating health, victory, success and all that, I seem to have been involved in some rather morbid activities. &nbsp;And I mean that in the most positive way.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you know that it is perfectly legal in the UK to bury someone in your garden? &nbsp;But only one person. &nbsp;Beyond that you would have a cemetery - which requires planning permission. &nbsp;Oh and you have to mention it on the Property Deeds which apparently reduces the value of the place &nbsp;(although not for me, I have to say). &nbsp;I learned this fact from the very lively Dr John Troyer of the <i>Centre for Death Studies</i> at one of the excellent <a href="http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Morbid Anatomy</b></a> series curated by Joanna Ebenstein at T<i>he Last Tuesday Society.</i>&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aOuiOSaoeCM/Ud8O8QMAywI/AAAAAAAABUQ/jNhCJYgLqeg/s1600/mark-karrass-detail-showing-skeletal-couple-from-el-gran-paneon-amoroso-by-jose-guadalupe-posada_i-G-12-1250-TU3T000Z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aOuiOSaoeCM/Ud8O8QMAywI/AAAAAAAABUQ/jNhCJYgLqeg/s400/mark-karrass-detail-showing-skeletal-couple-from-el-gran-paneon-amoroso-by-jose-guadalupe-posada_i-G-12-1250-TU3T000Z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For sometime, I have been mulling over what I would like to happen to my mortal remains and now I know. &nbsp;John mentioned various techniques as &nbsp;alternatives to cremation. &nbsp;One &nbsp;is an incredible sort of steam punk machine which sort of sucks your juice out. &nbsp;Didn't quite fancy that but I do like the technique where you (or the ex-you) is freeze dried in nitrogen until you are very brittle. Then a sonic boom</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is fired at you and <b><i>'puff!</i></b>' you are reduced to a pile of something rather like coffee granules.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we were down at <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Norwood_Cemetery" target="_blank">West Norwood Cemetery</a> </b>for a <i>London Dreamtime </i>event last weekend. &nbsp;The cemetery is one of the '<i>Magnificent Seven Great Gardens of Sleep' &nbsp;</i>built by the Victorians to solve the terrifying problem of London's dead in the nineteenth century. &nbsp;It is quite posh and well kept, certainly much more so than the crumbling gothic Nunhead - its only neighbour south of the river. &nbsp;I haven't been before and was keen to see if I could find the <b>teleportation chamber built by</b> <b>Bonomi and Warner</b> (more on that <a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/time-space-and-city.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>). &nbsp;I think it may be in the Greek quarter.</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NteN6YmKgcg/Ud8K8vgs50I/AAAAAAAABTo/FCQdt1RtI0E/s1600/west_norwood1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NteN6YmKgcg/Ud8K8vgs50I/AAAAAAAABTo/FCQdt1RtI0E/s320/west_norwood1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of South of the River, if you live in London you will be aware of the great divide. &nbsp;South definately feels different than North - which has often&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">spuriously claimed to be posher, more sophisticated, somehow </span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>more London.</i></b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> &nbsp;This may have its roots in that during the eighteenth century, bodies found floating in the river were allowed to be used by surgeons for anatomical experiments. &nbsp;</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those&nbsp;landed on the north bank fetched a better price</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> for those who dredged them as there was a greater demand from the northern hospitals..</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow I am filming a trailer for <i>Hendricks Carnival of Knowledge</i> for which we are programming a<b> London Day of the Dead</b> in October. &nbsp;It will be "<i>a guide to what to do in London the day after you die"</i>&nbsp;and will be chock full of information, entertainment and hopefully a taste of the afterlife (or at least of Hendricks). &nbsp;More on that soon. &nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you can, I hope you will come - assuming we are all still around by that time that is ..</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="250" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RvtDxNCoS2s" width="320"></iframe>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/07/life-after-london.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-6832770098329334049Sun, 19 May 2013 22:33:00 +00002013-05-25T11:21:20.700+01:00antique beatcardboardiakolya vasinnikolay vasinsamidzatsergey chernovsergey korsakovsovietst petersburghthe beatlesThe Real Tuesday WeldLOST IN THE TEMPLE OF LOVE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WuaReI8A1xQ/UZlEqd4ECmI/AAAAAAAABKw/MoX7GY3kxBM/s1600/IMG_0158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WuaReI8A1xQ/UZlEqd4ECmI/AAAAAAAABKw/MoX7GY3kxBM/s200/IMG_0158.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Sergey Chernov knocked on the battered door under the archway. We waited. A couple more knocks. Nothing.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;Then, as we were discussing what to do, the door opened a crack and a wisp of scented smoke curled out.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Against a dim glow, &nbsp;a face appeared. A bulky bearded wizard-like figure peered out. Sergey spoke to him in Russian. &nbsp;The figure looked at me, smiled, held the door open and said:&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b><i>"Welcome to Heaven"</i>.</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span> <br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VzEXQ5gec6w/UZlFGBYZ4HI/AAAAAAAABLY/NbT6UgTbeAE/s1600/IMG_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VzEXQ5gec6w/UZlFGBYZ4HI/AAAAAAAABLY/NbT6UgTbeAE/s200/IMG_0180.JPG" width="200" /></a>We entered. For me, a borderline neurotic when it comes to domestic arrangement, it was more like Hell. &nbsp;Every surface was covered with a cacophany of books, pictures, records, photographs, lamps and arcane twisted organic artwork in a dark interior which bore no resemblance to an apartment. &nbsp;The atmosphere was heavy with incense, there were no windows, little furniture &nbsp;and almost no evidence of ordinary&nbsp;life.<br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HL-FuF0pTsA/UZlFGlj2iBI/AAAAAAAABLw/A0eBG0yUXCw/s1600/IMG_0187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HL-FuF0pTsA/UZlFGlj2iBI/AAAAAAAABLw/A0eBG0yUXCw/s200/IMG_0187.JPG" width="200" /></a>I had been in St Petersburg with The Real Tuesday Weld for a concert and TV show and had stayed on for a couple of days with my friend Sergey Korsakov of&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.cardboardia.info/?lang=en" target="_blank">Cardboardia&nbsp;</a>. &nbsp;</b>We were doing&nbsp;research and interviews for a project I am involved with about samidzat recordings from the soviet era. &nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sergey.chernov.14?fref=ts" target="_blank"><b>Sergey Chernov</b></a><b> </b>another friend and a journalist for the St Petersburgh Times had set up this meeting with&nbsp;Nikolay&nbsp;Vasin, a character of some note in Russia where he is known simply as <i><b>"The Beatles Guy</b></i>". &nbsp;In his youth in the early sixties, Nikolay had come across an illegal recording which turned out to contain a Beatles song. &nbsp;It changed his life irrevocably. &nbsp;He had an epiphany. &nbsp;Since then he has devoted virtually his whole time and meagre resources to the Fab Four and John Lennon in particular. &nbsp;He calls his apartment <b><i>"The Temple of Love</i></b>" and he is its priest. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X6OdmrehFnE/UZlE2grqAuI/AAAAAAAABLA/xhFDBfJV4LE/s1600/IMG_0169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X6OdmrehFnE/UZlE2grqAuI/AAAAAAAABLA/xhFDBfJV4LE/s200/IMG_0169.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-piJjfwamUgk/UZlEqYcI5XI/AAAAAAAABK0/wRNvIES4zvY/s1600/IMG_0163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-piJjfwamUgk/UZlEqYcI5XI/AAAAAAAABK0/wRNvIES4zvY/s200/IMG_0163.JPG" width="200" /></a>As we entered, he retreated to an armchair in the corner. We found a seat where we could amongst the chaos of his collection. &nbsp;Every single item was in some way&nbsp;Beatles related: hundreds of items of memorabilia and tribute, homemade miniature shrines and shelves creaking under the weight &nbsp;of documents and recordings. &nbsp;Our conversation, alternating between Russian translated by the Sergeys and broken English began. &nbsp;I can't really call it an interview. &nbsp;Whilst I was able to steer Nikolay back to the period and subject we are researching, it was clear he was far happier &nbsp;talking about the Beatles. &nbsp;Now don't get me wrong, although I'm not a massive fan I am quite interested in them myself so his anecdotes and memories of various near-encounters with Paul McCartney, trips to foreign fan conventions, peculiar meetings &nbsp;with people tangentially associated with the band and deep analysis of their lyrics were fascinating. &nbsp;They are a band of course who have spawned an unparalleled amount of fandom and they did have a significant cultural effect***&nbsp;in the Soviet Union, but without doubt there is no fan to compare to&nbsp;Nikolay.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gVHuY6w-fEw/UZlFGBlqIsI/AAAAAAAABLc/B9pw0j28-uU/s1600/IMG_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gVHuY6w-fEw/UZlFGBlqIsI/AAAAAAAABLc/B9pw0j28-uU/s200/IMG_0183.JPG" width="200" /></a>As fascinating (albeit in a poignant way) as his reminiscences was his mystical take on the music and the effect it has on his life. &nbsp;He spends most of his time in<b>&nbsp;The Temple of Love </b>listening to the band (Beatles music was playing for the duration of our visit). &nbsp;His main passion is to talk to people about them. At one point he asked us if we wanted to see his 'family album'. &nbsp;My understanding is that this is a feature of many traditional Russian homes - a book of photographs of a person's family and forbears. &nbsp;As Nikolay had mentioned his mother several times, I was intrigued to see his. &nbsp;However when he opened it, we were startled to find it was completely filled with images of McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo and especially, John Lennon. These were often personalised and worked on with odd illustrations into a kind of outsider art. <br /><div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mZmcJm7U6PQ/UZlFGwWLGOI/AAAAAAAABL4/F-BxuXwDLzI/s1600/IMG_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mZmcJm7U6PQ/UZlFGwWLGOI/AAAAAAAABL4/F-BxuXwDLzI/s200/IMG_0190.JPG" width="200" /></a>As he showed us the album, he declared several times:<br />'<b><i>John Lennon' is my Daddy'</i>. &nbsp;</b><br /><br />It was clear he didn't mean this literally although tellingly from a psychological perspective, his own&nbsp;father seemed to have been a difficult, absent figure in his life. &nbsp;I was rather at a loss as to what to say. Eventually I ventured: &nbsp;</div><div><i><b>"You must have been very upset when he died"</b></i></div></div><div><br /></div><div>He looked at me with surprise:</div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qnq63eJoYEM/UZlFHYs3BuI/AAAAAAAABMI/rolLriLOla0/s1600/IMG_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qnq63eJoYEM/UZlFHYs3BuI/AAAAAAAABMI/rolLriLOla0/s200/IMG_0196.JPG" width="200" /></a><i><b>"He isn't dead"</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div>This time, all I could manage was&nbsp;</div><div><b>"<i>Er,</i> o<i>h."</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>He closed the album:</div><div><i><b>"He has been living secretly in Northern Italy since 1980"</b></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>He waved toward a wobbling shelf of CDrs behind him.</div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5XGojr0h-ag/UZlLrYQlqlI/AAAAAAAABMo/Jrii39qYw3k/s1600/IMG_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5XGojr0h-ag/UZlLrYQlqlI/AAAAAAAABMo/Jrii39qYw3k/s200/IMG_0181.JPG" width="200" /></a><i><b>"And he has made 34 albums since.."&nbsp;</b></i><br /><br />At this point, Sergey Chernov asked if he could use the bathroom and was directed through the kitchen. He returned a little while later looking slightly stunned (he told us afterwards that there was absolutely no sign of any cooking implements or food but didn't want to talk about the loo).<br /><br />We didn't get to hear any of the secret Lennon albums. &nbsp;I got the impression they weren't available for anyone but a committed devotee and we never got to the bottom of why Lennon had been in hiding. &nbsp;Pressing him on the subject seemed upsetting in some way, so we returned to the music itself. &nbsp;&nbsp;Nikolay said (and I believe him) that when he is in the Temple listening to the Beatles he feels completely happy and filled with love but that when he hears it elsewhere, even at a friend or fellow fan's place, it doesn't have the same effect.<br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HhG2UK_ezko/UZlE2cCvugI/AAAAAAAABLE/oOuoybqBDOU/s1600/IMG_0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HhG2UK_ezko/UZlE2cCvugI/AAAAAAAABLE/oOuoybqBDOU/s200/IMG_0177.JPG" width="200" /></a>It had been a fascinating if unsettling visit but it was time to leave. &nbsp;I genuinely liked Nikolay and thanked him. He gave us each a warm hug and some parting words of Beatles related wisdom. &nbsp;As he hadn't asked anything about what I did, I mentioned I had made&nbsp;<a href="http://tuesdayweld.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/A-Hundred-to-One-Im-In-Love-The-Clerkenwell-Kid-Loved-Up-Mix.mp3" target="_blank"><b><i>a Beatles mashup</i></b></a>&nbsp;if he would like to hear it. &nbsp;He would.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the first bit of <b>"<i>All You Need is Love"</i></b>&nbsp;played out on my laptop,&nbsp;he smiled beatifically and nodded with encouragement. &nbsp;But when a beat and a sample from another song kicked in, a pained expression fell across his face.</div><div><br /></div><div>He looked up at me and indicated I should stop the music (we were at about bar 16).</div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>"You ruined it' </b>&nbsp;</i>he said sadly.</div><div><br /><br /></div><div>He was probably right.</div><div><br /></div><ol class="bookstore-widget" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.25em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 4px 5px 5px; width: 130px;"><li style="background-image: none; background-position: 0px 3px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; border-top-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 130px;">__________________</li></ol><div><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">***Leslie Woodhead's&nbsp;</span>recent "<b style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin: The Untold Story of a Noisy Revolution"&nbsp;</b>has much more on the importance of the band in the ex-USSR if you want to know more about the subject. &nbsp;</div></div></div><br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;">__________________</span><br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Speaking of T<b>he Temple of Love</b>, I'd almost forgotten this old song about Cupid and Psyche, or was it Laura and Petrarch? Or me and that person I met in the launderette?&nbsp;</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EEK5kbaA9VE" width="420"></iframe>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/05/lost-in-temple-of-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-8408682731417515525Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:02:00 +00002013-04-23T11:19:04.641+01:00amber jane butchartamelia earhartblondinchelseacircustightropeLONDON'S FORGOTTEN FALLEN WOMAN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0nDWY5VFCM/UXZLxA5VPeI/AAAAAAAABEQ/1sqowhhXNpI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-04-23+at+09.47.15.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x0nDWY5VFCM/UXZLxA5VPeI/AAAAAAAABEQ/1sqowhhXNpI/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-04-23+at+09.47.15.png" width="220" /></a></div>I've always found something fascinating about women in the sky. &nbsp;It may have been an early fascination with the aviatrixes <b>Amelia Earhart</b> and <b>Amy Johnson</b> or possibly the memory of my older sister standing over me on a hilltop in West Wales, hair blowing in the sea breeze.&nbsp;So whenever I get chance to go to the circus, I am always keen to see the aerial artistes.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7RSPQf4UsJQ/UXZRquJVzRI/AAAAAAAABEo/NSy0AKdrA9k/s1600/02600r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7RSPQf4UsJQ/UXZRquJVzRI/AAAAAAAABEo/NSy0AKdrA9k/s640/02600r.jpg" width="219" /></a>Circuses and fairs were a big deal in Regency and Victorian London. &nbsp;Samuel Pepys was a big fan of Bartholomew Fair held down the road from here at Smithfield. &nbsp;He was particularly fond of the freak show attractions: the woman with a third breast, the man with three legs, the midgets, the fat boys and the Siamese twins. &nbsp;Personally, I would have loved to have seen <i>"Madame Gobert, The French Female Hercules" </i>swinging anvils and picking people up with her teeth.<br /><br />I was down the Chelsea Embankment the other day and remembered it was once the Cremorne Pleasure Gardens where there was a mid-nineteenth century amusement park with a continual variety of such Burleseque attractions. &nbsp;In the early 1860s a certain Miss Selina Young caused a sensation there when she crossed the Thames from Battersea on a high wire. &nbsp;She was immediately dubbed <b>'The Female Blondin</b>" (the male version then being a huge star) and was snapped up by a circus manager.<br /><i><br /></i><i>"The performance was decidedly sensational, and attracted a great crowd; besides having the advantage of being much less risk to the performer than any exhibition ever given by the cool-headed intrepid Frenchman whose name she borrowed. If she had fallen into the river, she would have found it soft, and so many boats were on its surface that the risk of drowning could not enter into the calculation... <b>it would have been well for Miss Young if she had confined her rope-walking feats to localities in which she had the water beneath her</b>.."&nbsp;</i><br /><i><br /></i>The last remark refers to the fact that the Female Blondin shortly afterwards fell during a performance at Highbury Fields. &nbsp;She was crossing a tightrope 100 feet up wearing a suit of armour and pushing a wheelbarrow when the fireworks attached to the support poles exploded causing her to wobble and lose her balance. &nbsp;She plunged headfirst to the ground accompanied by the screams of those present and although she was later revived, was crippled and earthbound for life. <br /><br />Still, better to reach for the sky and fall than never to try I believe.<br /><br /><i>Speaking of theatrical women, this week's </i><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/salon-number-4-dressing-london-stitches.html?spref=tw" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank"><b>Salon for the City at Westminster Library</b></a><i> features two: Amber Jane Butchart and &nbsp;Susie Ralph. &nbsp;And they will be talking about others - the Gaiety Girls and Hollywood stars who so influenced the way fashionable Londoners have dressed. &nbsp;More </i><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/salon-number-4-dressing-london-stitches.html?spref=tw" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">here</a><i>.</i><br /><i><br />And, speaking of<b> Ame</b></i><i><b>lia Earhart</b>:</i><br /><i><br /></i><i><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F89122354%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-MCOAv" width="100%"></iframe></i><br /><i><br /></i>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/04/up-above-streets-and-houses.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-7634320158792226050Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:23:00 +00002013-03-23T22:08:26.317+00:00babingtonexecutionfingerglen duncanhunterianlincoln's innyetiTHE LONDON FINGER<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElGzuyYXSQw/UU4Oo6sIAII/AAAAAAAABC4/qYj86mtuolo/s1600/Lincoln's_Inn_Field_1889.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElGzuyYXSQw/UU4Oo6sIAII/AAAAAAAABC4/qYj86mtuolo/s320/Lincoln's_Inn_Field_1889.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kVLxEfSx12o/UU4LRuBsxCI/AAAAAAAABCY/P0_eo7vH8A0/s1600/Portrait_of_young_gentleman_said_to_be_Anthony_Babington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kVLxEfSx12o/UU4LRuBsxCI/AAAAAAAABCY/P0_eo7vH8A0/s320/Portrait_of_young_gentleman_said_to_be_Anthony_Babington.jpg" width="251" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Nearly everyone knows about <b>the London Eye</b>. Looking over the rooftops from here I can see it winking between two chimneys.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">And of course the <a href="http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/on-scent-of-something-or-other.html" target="_blank"><i><b>London Nose</b></i> (or the Soho noses)</a> have become a quite common&nbsp;dinner conversation&nbsp;topic of late.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">But I was walking with a friend the other day in Lincoln's inn fields and we were discussing the much lesser known "<b>London Finger".</b></span><br /><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTCIE2xbcLQ/UU4LRqqaiUI/AAAAAAAABCc/J9t-DJLdKAc/s1600/yeti-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WTCIE2xbcLQ/UU4LRqqaiUI/AAAAAAAABCc/J9t-DJLdKAc/s320/yeti-1.jpg" width="251" /></a>I like Lincoln's Inn Fields a lot. &nbsp;As a youngster, I remember back in the prehistoric era (the nineteen eighties as you would call it), &nbsp;it was the unlikely location for a &nbsp;citadel of homeless people as was the Waterloo roundabout (now the site of the gleaming I-max cinema**). &nbsp;It is funny how times change isn't it? I mean one of the reasons I liked the anti-capitalist protest at St Pauls last year was that it reminded me of those times when central London was not so corporate and hygenically controlled. &nbsp;I was as apolitical then as I am now (albeit for reasons of age) but it seemed to be an era in which the city authorities were much kinder to the dispossessed. &nbsp;Camden, who control Lincoln's Inn and a bit of Clerkenwell, must have almost encouraged them given the extensiveness of their cardboard shanty town. &nbsp;But then property prices took off and everything changed. A memory of the time &nbsp;does linger on as there is still a nightly soup kitchen in the square(organised by the Hari-Krishnas I believe).</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I_XAyhS06Ko/UU4LRke7C8I/AAAAAAAABCk/HEfqhGZqHBE/s1600/yeti+finger+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I_XAyhS06Ko/UU4LRke7C8I/AAAAAAAABCk/HEfqhGZqHBE/s320/yeti+finger+1.png" width="251" /></a>On a more bloody note, it has a personally squeamish association. &nbsp;During one of the darker nights of a personal apocalypse a few years back I dreamt of a scarlet road leading from my place through the centre of town to the West. &nbsp;I dreamt that me and my friend and then housemate Glen Duncan were walking along it and as we passed Lincoln's Inn, we witnessed the horrific execution of Anthony Babington. &nbsp;He was a young, idealistic, romantic Catholic (er, I guess that was the connection) but a bit thick and ended up disembowelled &nbsp;with his head on a pole on London Bridge after leading a failed plot against Elizabeth I. &nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">I later discovered that this road, which leads from Shoreditch right through to Ealing, passes many such old execution sites and in fact Lincoln's Inn Fields seems to have retained some of its visceral memories. &nbsp;For instance, it is still home to the Royal College of Surgeons and the grisly <i><b>Hunterian </b>collection</i> - a sort of cross between a medical museum and a freak show. &nbsp;For a while it exhibited a <i><b>'Yeti's Finger'</b></i>. &nbsp;This was obtained from a Himalayan monastery by the explorer Peter Byrne who, in an incredible tale of Indiana Jones style derring-do, had to substitute a human digit or it in order to avoid a curse.&nbsp;In an even more bizarre twist, the finger was smuggled to London hidden in the lingerie of the the wife of movie star <b>James Stewart.</b> &nbsp; It then disappeared for many years before re-surfacing in a display case at the Hunterian.<br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">It's a Wonderful Life. &nbsp;You really can't make this stuff up can you?&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">The finger came from a large, ancient&nbsp;withered hand which the monks in the monastery concerned believed to be that of a Yeti or <i>'<b>abominable snowman'</b></i><b>.</b> &nbsp;DNA testing established the finger to be in fact of human origin (yes I know that means it probably still has a fascinating history but it is one of the reasons I dislike science.) &nbsp;Anyway, it has disappeared again. &nbsp;If you find it, do let me know won't you? &nbsp;The lingerie too.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">On a somewhat related note, and given that it may be too late as tickets are limited, &nbsp;if you like this sort of thing, join us at Westminster Arts Library next Thursday 28th March for <a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/salon-number-3-london-bone.html" target="_blank">"</a><b><i><a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/salon-number-3-london-bone.html" target="_blank">London Bone"</a> </i></b>&nbsp;- an exploration of the skeletal underneath this city's flesh.</div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">More details &nbsp;are <a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/salon-number-3-london-bone.html" target="_blank">here</a></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>Now think on.</i></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>**Lest we forget, &nbsp;this was always a musical place: Ray Davies set "Waterloo Sunset" nearby and it was here that Gavin Bryars found and recorded the tramp who sang the heartbreaking "Jesus blood never failed me yet"</i></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-london-finger.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-3504971708181872451Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:33:00 +00002013-02-04T21:33:38.351+00:00LONDON BRIDGING<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RnEy50Gp734/UQlX6iN3ooI/AAAAAAAABAU/zgDAqfOJUhk/s1600/old_london_bridge_1745_1846_hi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RnEy50Gp734/UQlX6iN3ooI/AAAAAAAABAU/zgDAqfOJUhk/s320/old_london_bridge_1745_1846_hi.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">Are you South of the river or North of the river? After the success of sold-out<a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/salon-number-1-social-life-gin-and.html" target="_blank"> Salon No 1</a>, we are back at Westminster Arts library with Salon No.2 featuring&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><a href="http://traviselborough.co.uk/" target="_blank">Travis Elborough</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><a href="http://www.fandmpublications.co.uk/" target="_blank">Chris Roberts</a></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">&nbsp;telling strange stories about London's oldest and best known bridge. &nbsp;A soundtrack for the city will be provided by&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">yours truly. &nbsp;</span></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">And </span><span style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">Hendricks </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">will be presenting their amazing gin cocktails &nbsp;- sufficient to float most people's boat I&nbsp;</span>believe.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><br /></span></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfWuKK3jc04/UQlZe07EyZI/AAAAAAAABAs/BqQU5EI5L_E/s1600/tumblr_liu8xiXFDI1qztueno1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BfWuKK3jc04/UQlZe07EyZI/AAAAAAAABAs/BqQU5EI5L_E/s320/tumblr_liu8xiXFDI1qztueno1_500.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">Tickets are very limited - you can get them here:&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.wegottickets.com/event/207532" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">WeGotTickets&nbsp;</a></span><br /><div style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><b>Travis</b>&nbsp;(</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">who is&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">the&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">author of the forthcoming&nbsp;</span><i style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">"</i><i style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><b>London Bridge in America: The Tall-Story of A Transatlantic Crossing"</b></i><i style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">) </i><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">will&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">tell us a tale b</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">eginning with a history of the bridge in its various incarnations and&nbsp;</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">&nbsp;how the&nbsp;</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">world’s largest antique went to a waterless patch of the Arizonan desert when a previous incarnation of the bridge was bought by&nbsp;</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">a&nbsp;<i>"fraudster whose greatest trick was to convince the world he ever existed.</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><i>."</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XuNWHPe6cFI/UQlZebFjImI/AAAAAAAABAc/CCtTvqq8gSo/s1600/nicolaas-visscher-old-london-bridge-124235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XuNWHPe6cFI/UQlZebFjImI/AAAAAAAABAc/CCtTvqq8gSo/s320/nicolaas-visscher-old-london-bridge-124235.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">Then, as if that wasn't enough,&nbsp;</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">by&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">drawing on his remarkable and encyclopaedic knowledge of the city,<a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk"></a>&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">Chris</b><b style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"> </b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;">(</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">author&nbsp;of&nbsp;<i><b>"Cross River Traffic"</b></i>&nbsp;- the definitive guide to London's bridges)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">will present an interactive&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">presentation</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">&nbsp;on crossing the Thames</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">&nbsp;in which </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><b>YOU</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> select which stories get told. &nbsp;</span><br /><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;">More details are <a href="http://salonforthecity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/salon-number-2-cross-river-traffic.html"><b><i>here.</i></b></a></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/02/london-bridging.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-4114718609314623725Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:15:00 +00002013-01-26T17:56:43.434+00:00LONDON TREACLE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_R1afJLEmPw/UQPVAomVH8I/AAAAAAAAA_8/WjpyXyQauzQ/s1600/bcp0058-0317-f4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_R1afJLEmPw/UQPVAomVH8I/AAAAAAAAA_8/WjpyXyQauzQ/s320/bcp0058-0317-f4.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>Like many, I was languishing over Christmas with &nbsp;a bad bout of man-flu. &nbsp;Fortunately I was stationed in a lovely old house by the sea on the North coast of Scotland with only the odd seal between us and the Orkneys. &nbsp;After a couple of weeks of coughing and sneezing I was casting around for a solution and was contemplating trying to mix up some&nbsp;<b><i> London Treacle.</i></b> &nbsp;This is a semi-mythical concoction developed in the seventeenth century as a treatment for the bubonic plague.***<br /><br />I eventually found the recipe and was rooting around in an outhouse before being persuaded (against my better judgement) to opt for lemsip instead. &nbsp;My <i>'If it was good enough for Samuel Pepys, it's good enough for me'</i> argument had failed to persuade my companions of the efficacy of its ingredients:<br /><br /><i>-Oil</i><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDTN4XU9slI/UQPVAj_0EDI/AAAAAAAAA_4/Mv4obaeMZvA/s1600/bcp0058-0317-f5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDTN4XU9slI/UQPVAj_0EDI/AAAAAAAAA_4/Mv4obaeMZvA/s320/bcp0058-0317-f5.jpg" width="213" /></a><i>-Gunpowder</i><br /><i>-Sack (a fortified wine)</i><br /><br />I had already found the gunpowder so I suppose I can understand their anxiety - mind you it seemed preferable to those other plague preventives:&nbsp;<i>'Pomme d'amber'</i> which contained whale vomit; the placing of&nbsp;<i>a toad sewn up in a bag</i> on your stomach or the application of '<i>oil of scorpion' </i>to the boils.<br /><br />One of the great advantages of being unwell was that it finally allowed time for the long-postponed creation and publication of the new <b><i><a href="http://www.tuesdayweld.com/" target="_blank">The Real Tuesday Weld website</a></i></b> - a kind of archive of the story so far. &nbsp;It has been interesting to start to pull it all together - '<i>How time flies!' </i>I kept thinking and it was quite nice to re-discover some things I had completely forgotten about.<br /><br /><i>Still trying to find some use for the gunpowder though..</i><br /><br /><br />----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />***T<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">he Great Plague wreaked havoc in London in 1665 and Charles II asked the Royal College of Physicians for advice. They came up with:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">- Keeping the streets clean and flushed with water in order to purify the air</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">- Lighting fires in</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">streets and houses and the burning of certain aromatic materials such as resin, tar, turpentine, juniper, cedar and brimstone.</span><br />-The digestion of&nbsp;<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b><i>London Treacle,</i></b> Mithridatium, Galene and diascordium</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Here</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;is their recipe for the <i><b>“Plague-water of Mathias” </b></i>should you need it:</span><br /><br style="font-family: Helvetica;" /><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">"Take the roots of Tormentil, Angelica, Peony, Zedoarie, Liquorish, Elacampane, of each half an ounce, the leaves of Sage, Scordium, Celandine, Rue, Rosemary, Wormwood, Ros solis, Mugwort, Burnet, Dragons, Scabious, Agrimony, Baum,</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Carduus, Betony, Centery the less, Marygolds leaves and flowers, of each one handful; Let them all be cut, bruised, and infused three days in eight pints of White wine in the month of May, and distilled.&nbsp;</span></i><br /><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Take of</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><u><b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">London</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Treacle</span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span></u><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">two ounces, of</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Conserve of Wood-sorrel three ounces, of the temperate Cordial species half an ounce, of Syrupe of Limons enought to make all an electuary: Of they may be taken a dram and half for prevention, and the double quantity for cure."</span></i><br />----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Which reminds me:</span></i><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u7pHDoJrrzA" width="420"></iframe>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/01/london-treacle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-7361346658016270301Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:28:00 +00002013-01-11T08:52:49.317+00:00(LONDON) LIFE BECOMING ART<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GObASCMvfvE/UO9YAjezhHI/AAAAAAAAA_k/VVID8oXVElQ/s1600/fergus_greer_-_leigh_bowery_med-7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GObASCMvfvE/UO9YAjezhHI/AAAAAAAAA_k/VVID8oXVElQ/s320/fergus_greer_-_leigh_bowery_med-7.jpeg" title="" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leigh Bowery by Fergus Greer</td></tr></tbody></table>Last night to Brixton to see the <b><i><a href="http://www.brixtonclubhouse.com/taboo" target="_blank">TABOO</a></i></b> musical - a revival of the original award-winning production from about ten years back. I remember the posters and was intrigued by Leigh Bowery but I didn't know anything about the <b><i><a href="http://www.theblitzkids.com/blitz/blitzclub.html" target="_blank">Blitz club </a></i></b>/ early eighties New Romantic scene in London so didn't see it then.<br /><br />I was there last night because the book was written by Mark Davies Markham with whom Marcella Puppini and I have been working. Boy George co-wrote the songs (and starred in the original production as <b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leigh_Bowery" target="_blank">Bowery</a></i></b>) and it includes a couple of original Culture Club songs and various early New Romantic classics. &nbsp;It is very good, very funny, very entertaining - even if that isn't your sort of music. &nbsp;There isn't a stage - its like being in a club with a catwalk and it happens all around you. It was absolutely rammed and went down a storm - I think it's going to run and run and very possibly go West End, a sort of hip Mamma Mia.<br /><br />But last night was something else - it was like three shows in one. &nbsp;You see <b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Strange" target="_blank">Steve Strange</a></i></b>, <b><i><a href="http://www.theblitzkids.com/site_archive/philip_sallon/boysallon1.html" target="_blank">Philip Sallon</a></i></b>, <b><i>George</i></b> and various other luminaries from the period were both there in the audience and major characters in the musical. &nbsp;It was&nbsp;press night so they are not usually in attendance, but it meant you could simultaneously watch the drama unfold, watch some of them sitting there AND witness them actually interacting with their characters.. &nbsp;For instance <b>The Real Steve Strange</b> (looking rather fragile it has to be said) made various comments to his younger self on stage and, with seeming equal regard, to&nbsp;both&nbsp;T<b>he Real Phillip Sallon </b>(sitting anciently prim on his own in a low cut dress) and the character Phillip Sallon camping it up on stage. &nbsp;They had a whale of a time.<br /><br />I suppose this is what is meant by Post-Modernism.<br /><br />Very entertaining and interesting but also quite poignant with regard to the transitory nature of fame and age (which is kind of the modern taboo isn't it?). Where are they now? What do they do now? &nbsp;What is like to see the signal events of your youth (which happened to become pop-culturally significant) re-enacted before you as you, as it were '<b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fade_to_Grey_(Visage_song)" target="_blank">fade to grey'</a></i></b>?<br /><br /><i>Slightly haunting I would have thought. &nbsp;&nbsp;</i><br /><br />&nbsp; <iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UMPC8QJF6sI" width="420"></iframe>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/01/london-life-becoming-art.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12981649.post-8279628274458734190Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:24:00 +00002013-02-04T11:27:09.819+00:00DREAMING IN STYLE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C88NeEJNY1I/UOXnpRLz3AI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ZDJ3p9BlQp0/s1600/burlington_bertie_petit_format.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C88NeEJNY1I/UOXnpRLz3AI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ZDJ3p9BlQp0/s320/burlington_bertie_petit_format.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>I popped into <a href="http://newandlingwood.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>New and Lingwood</i></b> </a>to treat myself to a pair of new pyjamas recently. I had completed an intense period of work with very little sleep and, as a periodic insomniac and fan of Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, I felt I deserved them. &nbsp;It is a lovely shop at the Jermyn Street end of the Burlington Arcade in St James. Quite posh.<br /><br />There is a famous music hall song featuring the arcade called <b><i>"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_Bertie" target="_blank">Burlington Bertie from Bow"</a></i></b> about a young idler with high West End social pretensions who really lives in the then lowly East End (and obviously with no connection to yours truly).<br /><br />PJs are not the sort of thing you can really try on so I spent quite a while choosing and finally selected a rather natty pair in black with a broad acid green stripe. &nbsp;A well-dressed assistant had been hovering behind me for some time and as I turned toward the counter he said:<br /><i><br /></i><i>"Did you go to Eton sir?"</i> (For non UK readers, Eton is an old and exclusive English private school)<br /><i>"Er, no I didn't"</i> I said. &nbsp;He indicated the pyjamas:<br /><i>"You did know that those are Eton colours though?"</i><br /><i>"Er, no I didn't."</i><br /><i>"Ah."&nbsp;</i><br /><i>"Did you have to go to Eton to be able to buy them" </i>I asked<br />He looked slightly crestfallen:<br /><i>"Not any more sir."</i><br /><i><br /></i>Well a sale is a sale, despite the world having obviously changed for the worse, &nbsp;so we proceeded to the counter.&nbsp;I thought I would try to cheer him up as I paid.<br /><br /><i>"So, will I be cleverer when I wake in the morning then?"</i><br /><i><br /></i>He hesitated but got the joke after a moment.<br /><i>"No, I am afraid not sir!"</i><br /><i><br /></i>We smiled at each other and I turned to leave.<br /><i>"But they may make you better mannered.."</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hb1VavOM2uc?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div>http://theclerkenwellkid.blogspot.com/2013/01/sleeping-in-style.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (clerkenwell kid)6